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Couple fined $94,000 for one-child rule lapse
September 21, 2004
Beijing - A court in China's southern boomtown of Shenzhen has fined a couple
780,000 yuan ($94,250) and sealed off their house for having more than one
child, the Beijing Morning Post said Monday.
The pair were among nine couples who were fined "social fostering fees" for
their extra children, the newspaper said. They had their first boy in 1997 and
last year had twin boys, the newspaper said.
With approximately 1.3 billion people, China is the world's most populous
nation. It has stringent rules on family planning that allow couples usually to
have just one child, at least in cities, and limit numbers elsewhere.
The couple's house had been sealed up "according to the law," the paper said,
or until they pay the fine which was unusually large. A house is sealed with a
white paper bearing the stamp of a local court pasted across the front door.
Punishment for having more than one child can include having the power to the
offending couple's house or to the houses of relatives being cut off.
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