HUNDREDS of children mostly aged between 13 and 15 had been abducted and sold in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, by illegal child labor organizations, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

The children were often lined up in front of a small supermarket for buyers to choose. They were abducted by foremen from the Liangshan area in Sichuan Province, a poverty stricken area, by a man surnamed Wang, director of a job agency in Tangxia, Dongguan.

"Their wages are very low, only from 2.5 yuan (US$0.42) to 3.8 yuan per hour, and they don't have any welfare protection, so they are very popular with bosses from nearby factories," Wang said.

The child laborers were managed by foremen and child labor organizations, said a foreman, identified as Pan Ajie. The foreman claimed that he had letters of guarantee from the children's parents, which were also stamped by village committees.

"When the contracts finish, we will take these kids back and look for other bosses to hire them. If they don't follow the bosses' instructions, I will come to the factory and beat them until they are obedient," Pan said.

Foremen used fake hukou photocopies, in which the children's ages were changed to above 18, so that labor departments don't find out, another foreman, Chen said.

(Wang Yuanyuan)