China disbands gangs exploiting deaf-mute people

Beijing: Chinese police have dismantled 75 criminal gangs that held mute and hearing-impaired people in captivity and forced them to commit crimes such as theft, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said.

Police rescued 98 victims and detained 464 suspects in a campaign that spanned 13 provincial regions, it said.

In November 2015, police in Changchun in north-eastern province of Jilin were alerted to the criminal activity of a suspect identified only as Yang.

Yang was the ringleader of a gang that had abducted mute and hearing-impaired people and forced them to commit crimes with physical and verbal abuse.

The gang members allegedly posed as recruiters to gain the trust of the victims before abducting them.