AP

Baby 59, who was rescued after being trapped in a sewage pipe moments after his birth, lies in an incubator in China.

BEIJING – The mother of a baby that was found trapped in a China sewer pipe will not face any charges, police said Thursday, as the boy left hospital with his grandparents.

Police in Jinhua City, Zhejiang province said the incident was being treated as an accident, despite the 22-year old mother’s initial refusal to claim the baby until confronted by officers.

Police had previously suggested the mother, who they did not identify, could face attempted murder charges.

The baby at the center of Saturday's stunning two-hour rescue - known in China as No. 59 because of his hospital incubator number - was released into the custody of the birth mother’s parents, according to Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, citing an official at the Pujiang county propaganda office in Zhejiang.

The mother, her parents and the suspected father – pending a paternity test requested by the man – will all help support and raise the child.

An official at the Pujiang People’s Hospital said the boy was suffering from jaundice but had received treatment for the ailment before being discharged.

Officials stressed though that the boy’s overall prognosis was good and that, besides a few remaining bruises to his head, legs and arms, he is healthy.

Meanwhile, the man suspected of being the father is currently under investigation, according to Jinhua police. Officials said the man accused of having a one night stand with the mother was not in police custody, but declined to say whether he had turned himself into authorities.

Local media reports on Wednesday said the mother had become pregnant after a one-night stand. Unable to afford an abortion and with her partner unwilling to acknowledge it was his child, the mother took to hiding the pregnancy by wearing baggy clothes and tying strips of cloth around her stomach.

She then secretly gave birth to the boy in a fourth-floor public bathroom of the building where she lived, only to reportedly have the baby slip from her hands after delivery. The boy dropped into the open, squat-style toilet and slid down into the narrow 4-inch in diameter sewer pipe.

Not wanting her child, but unwilling to leave him to die in the drain, she reportedly notified a neighbor of sounds coming from the pipes, who then called police to investigate.     

Firefighters were then called to gently cut the child free from the pipe using pliers and handsaws.

The mother has been subjected to near universal condemnation on Chinese social media.

The Associated Press reported that the mother had told police that she had initially refused to step forward because she had been frightened about the incident, but eventually had a change of heart and told officials she was in fact the mother.

Earlier reports said the mother had been compelled to confess she was the mother after police entered her home two days after the rescue and asked her to undergo a medical exam.

NBC News’ Huang Pei and Dalin Liu contributed to this report.

Related:

• Newborn baby found trapped in sewer pipe in China apartment complex

This story was originally published on Thu May 30, 2013 9:49 AM EDT

China Daily via Reuters

Baby No. 59 - known by his incubator number - cries as he recovers in hospital. The boy, found trapped in a sewer pipe, was said to be recovering.

BEIJING – The mother of a baby boy found stuck in a residential building’s sewer pipe in China has been found, police told local media.

The police would not comment on the case over the telephone, but did brief local reporters. According to the state-run Qianjiang Evening News paper, the unidentified 22-year-old woman said that her baby slipped from her hands after the delivery and down the toilet drain, where he remained until firefighters freed him hours later.

The baby, who was earlier reported to be about two days old, was found on Saturday in Jinhua City, Zhejiang province.

The mother reportedly confessed when police confronted her and asked her to submit to a health checkup

Police detained the mother after a brief investigation, Qianjiang Evening News reported.

While police in Jinhua would not comment on the case by telephone, state-run newspapers including the Qianjiang Evening News said that the woman told police she had gotten pregnant after a one-night stand.

The woman reportedly said she could not afford an abortion and hid her pregnancy from neighbors by tying strips of cloth around her stomach and wearing baggy clothes. The father of the child refused to acknowledge his paternity, police told the paper.

The mother told police that Sunday’s delivery came as a surprise. She reportedly went to the fourth-floor public bathroom where she lived as she felt sick and found herself in labor.

Not wanting her child, but unwilling to leave him to die in the drain, she reportedly notified a neighbor of sounds coming from the pipes, who then called police to investigate.     

Jinhua police said on Tuesday that the case was being treated as an attempted murder investigation, but with the mother in custody having admitted the boy was her child, it was unclear whether police would charge her.

The baby meanwhile – known in China as Baby No. 59 because of his incubator number at the hospital where he was taken to – was reportedly in stable condition.

Pujiang People’s Hospital officials declined to comment on the baby’s health today, but told NBC News on Tuesday that the boy was stable and his prognosis good despite heavy bruising to his legs, arms and head.

On Chinese social media, the story drew condemnation from many netizens who suspect the mother dumped the baby on purpose. It has also led to an outpouring of support for the child, who has received powdered milk, toys and blankets from the community and across China.

NBC News’ Dalin Liu contributed to this report.

Related:

• Newborn baby found trapped in sewer pipe in China apartment complex

BEIJING – A baby boy believed to be just days old was found in a sewer pipe in a bathroom in China last weekend.

According to local media, the startling discovery was made on Saturday in Jinhua City, Zhejiang province.

Firefighters were called to an apartment complex where residents said they could hear the baby’s cries through the pipes.

Emergency crews who arrived on the scene could see the baby’s head far down inside the toilet duct, but were unable to reach down far enough into the 4-inch in diameter pipe to pull him out.

Rescuers had to walk down one floor below to cut the pipe free.

After removing the section of pipe containing the baby, firefighters took him to a nearby hospital where pliers and a saw were used to gently free him.

The child, whose name is unknown, was believed to be just two days old when he was discovered and initially suffered from a low heart rate and labored breathing. He had also suffered numerous bruises to his head, arms and legs.

Reuters TV

Rescuers try to reach the trapped infant inside a piece of the sewage pipe.

Doctors at Pujiang People’s Hospital said by telephone that the baby’s prognosis was good. His heart rate was stabilizing and his breathing was much smoother, they added.

Staff also reported that the hospital was paying the boy’s medical bills while donations of clothes, baby formula and other gifts were coming in from the community.

Doctors declined to confirm whether the baby’s relatives have come forward.

Police in Jinhua City said that they “seemed” to have found the baby’s parents before refusing to speak further. Police there have also said that they were treating the investigation as an attempted murder.

On Chinese social media, users expressed their outrage over the incident and called for the parents to be punished.

“More and more young parents treat their own flesh and blood so viciously,” wrote one user on China’s Twitter-like service, Weibo. “Treating a life like this is no different than murder.”

Others though expressed a desire to adopt the young boy.

“I am 25 years old and single! Can I adopt him?” asked one user.

NBC News’ Huang Pei and Dalin Liu contributed to this report.

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ChinaFotoPress

A 15-year-old Chinese boy is feeling the full weight of online opprobrium after it emerged that he had scrawled his name on a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture during a visit to the country with his family.

BEIJING – A 15-year-old Chinese boy is feeling the full weight of online opprobrium after it emerged that he scrawled his name on a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture during a visit to the country with his family.

Parents of the boy, Ding Jinhao, have apologized publicly for their son’s actions after a photo of the graffiti surfaced and prompted more than 254,000 mentions on China’s Twitter-like service Weibo.

Internet users decried the defacement of the ancient site and called for renrou sou suo, or the Chinese phenomena of “human flesh search engines,” in which netizens expose those who have run afoul of Internet communities.

As the online manhunt gathered steam – becoming one of the most popular trending topics on Weibo this past weekend – Ding’s family found out that photographic evidence of their son’s vandalism as well as private information about him was being published publicly online.

In a bid to stop the hounding, Ding’s parents did an anonymous interview Sunday with a local newspaper, Modern Express. In it they both apologized for their son’s behavior, describing him as “a good student” but a little bit “introverted.”   

They declined to say how old Ding was when they visited Luxor, but they implied that he had been much younger. They also confessed that they had not been watching their son while on tour in Egypt and that they discovered their son’s vandalism the same day it happened.

“When we were told by our son about it, we disciplined him immediately and he realized his wrong doing then,” his mother was quoted as saying. 

The couple blamed themselves for their son’s actions.

“When he was little, we often took him travelling,” she said.  “When we saw similar situations [of graffiti], we never told him it was wrong.”

Fallout from the confession was immediate and severe. Users hacked the website of Ding’s primary school so that visitors first had to click on an image saying "Ding Jinhao was here" before continuing to the homepage.

“Would an apology be enough if he had destroyed that cultural relic?!?” one Weibo user demanded. “You should take responsibility if you have done something wrong, no matter if you are a kid or not.”

Many users were quick to blame Ding’s parents.

“It is the parents’ fault, children should be taught what cannot be done,” one user wrote,

Others said Ding’s actions reflected a cultural insensitivity on the part of many Chinese abroad.

“All tourists leaving China should be given a brochure and tested to see if they can behave themselves,” another joked. “If they can’t pass the exam, they shouldn’t be allowed to go abroad.”

Cultural sensitivity and bad manners have increasingly become topics of discussion in China. This month, Vice-Premier Wang Yang warned that “uncivilized behavior” of some Chinese tourists was harming the nation’s image.

To combat what Wang called the “poor quality and breeding” of Chinese tourists, China recently passed a new tourism law that will attempt amongst other things to “promote a healthy and civilized way to travel [and] to improve the level of civilization of tourists.”

The new tourism law still faces many issues, such as the fact that its existence isn’t even recognized by the government agency charged with handling Chinese travel. A representative who picked up the phone at China’s National Tourism Administration told NBC News that there was no tourism law and that there had been no discussion of one.

With over 83 million trips overseas last year, Chinese tourists are increasingly leaving a bigger global footprint. It is also an extremely lucrative one for host countries: The United Nations World Tourism Organization reported that Chinese travelers spent a record $102 billion visiting overseas last year, a 40 percent jump from 2011.

NBC News’ Yanzhou Liu and Dalin Liu contributed to this report.

Philippe Lopez / AFP - Getty Images

A map of China made from more than 1,800 cans of baby formula created by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei highlights the controversy over raging demand for milk powder from Hong Kong in mainland China. Hong Kong has passed a draconian law to limit supplies.

BEIJING – His art may be forbidden in China and his name blocked as a search topic online, but Chinese artist and social activist Ai Weiwei still knows how to grab headlines.

His latest art project on display in Hong Kong is titled “Baby Formula 2013” and is an 860-square-foot map of China assembled from more than 1,800 cans of formula.

The exhibit strikes at the heart of a number of key social issues affecting China right now: from ever-present domestic food scandals to growing tension between Hong Kong and the mainland.

A former British colony, Hong Kong became a self-administered region of China in 1997 and operates under different laws. It remains free from state censorship and has become a mecca for shoppers from the mainland who believe they are buying the real – not fake or copied – items. 

Ed Flanagan / NBC News

A sign at the Air China check-in counter in Hong Kong says, "Departing with excessive powdered formula COMMITS AN OFFENCE ... each may take 2 cans of powdered formula with a total net weight up to 1.8 kg out of Hong Kong."

But on March 1 Hong Kong’s government ordered a two-can limit be enforced on people attempting to bring baby formula out of the special administrative region.

The draconian law is meant to prevent anxious parents from the mainland from buying up its formula in the wake of the 2008 melamine milk scandals that killed six children and left 300,000 others ill.

“I understand the intention of the milk power law, but it’s not a law that should be accepted in a free-enterprise city like Hong Kong,” Ai said by phone Tuesday. “You don’t limit the sale of things like Coca-Cola or formula. This is something Hong Kong should work with the mainland government to solve.”

Ai, who used eight brands of popular foreign baby formula to construct the map, said it took a number of buyers some time to purchase all the cans needed for the project. 

“We went out and researched and bought the brands of formula that were popular amongst Chinese parents,” he said, noting products from Switzerland, Australia, Germany and the U.S. were particularly hot sellers.

In China -- where Ai’s name continues to be a blocked term in Chinese social media due to his run-ins with the government -- reaction to his newest exhibition ranged from frustration with the steady flow of food scandals to amusement over the Hong Kong law.

“It is like a slap across the face of China’s milk powder industry,” wrote one angered user on China’s twitter-like service, Weibo, “Do they have the nerve to keep living?”

“I’m going to steal some cans of formula when I go to see the exhibition!” another user chimed in.

Despite his concerns over the Hong Kong law, Ai’s focus seems to be more on the ongoing concerns over food safety in China.

“That Chinese people have to go across the border just to get a fresh supply of baby formula and clean food, that’s shocking to me,” Ai said. “Food safety is a huge issue now due to the neglect of the government."

“I just wanted to speed up the change and development," he added.

Philippe Lopez / AFP - Getty Images

A woman walks along Ai Weiwei's baby formula map of China. "Food safety is a huge issue now due to the neglect of the government," Ai said.

The insatiable demand for foreign baby formula and other products in China has in recent years led to fears of shortages in Hong Kong, where resentment toward visiting mainland shoppers – sometimes derogatorily referred to as “locusts” – has grown.

Concern that mainland shoppers could buy up the entire supply of formula prompted the changes to the law that seemed out of character with Hong Kong’s reputation as the world’s freest economy.

Hong Kong is not the first part of the world to change the rules on baby formula purchases. Retailers in Australia and Britain have also imposed can limits as a result of surging Chinese demand.

But Hong Kong’s law angered mainland parents who found themselves suddenly facing fines upward of $64,000 and two-year prison sentences if found guilty of trying to sneak more formula out for their children.

It also inflamed tensions in mainland China, where the formula limit was seen as a sign of Hong Kong’s ingratitude for the inherent economic benefits enjoyed by its close proximity to the mainland.

NBC News’ Lorraine Liu and Huang Pei contributed to this report.

Slideshow: The artist strikes a nerve

Sharron Lovell / Polaris

Ai Weiwei is an artist and social activist who has a history of courting controversy in China. Click to see photos of some of his most influential works.

Launch slideshow

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Slideshow: The artist strikes a nerve

Sharron Lovell / Polaris

Ai Weiwei, whose sculpture representing the mythical figures of the Chinese zodiac will be unveiled Monday in New York, has been detained by Chinese authorities and accused of serious crimes. Click to see photos of some of his most influential works.

Launch slideshow

BEIJING – China’s Ai Weiwei on Wednesday released a profanity-laced heavy-metal single based on the 81 days the firebrand artist and activist spent in detention.

Written and sung by Ai with music by prominent Chinese rocker Zuoxiao Zuzhou, “Dumbass” is “is a wall-to-wall simulation of the prison cell that Weiwei was detained in,” a spokeswoman for Ai said.

Lyrics in the song, translated into English, include "**** forgiveness, tolerance be damned, to hell with manners, the low-life’s invincible," and "The field is full of ****ers, dumbasses are everywhere."

A video to accompany the song is available to watch on YouTube [note: profanity in Chinese].

Ai’s detention and the hefty $2.4 million tax bill later levied against him led to protests around the world, as well as an upsurge of support in China for the award-winning artist, who was placed under house arrest following his release.

Ai said that recreating his cell and the traumatic experience of being imprisoned – which Ai claims included 24-hour supervision by two military police sergeants, even as he slept and used the bathroom – was a cathartic experience.   

The Chinese government has never confirmed the details of Ai’s detention.

The track, the first single off his new album “The Divine Comedy,” was described in a press release from his studio as “Ai Weiwei’s reflection on the struggle of protecting human rights and the freedom of expression in China.”

The Divine Comedy is expected to be released fully in June on Ai’s website and on iTunes.

Ai’s spokeswoman said that the artist was working on a second album that will shift away from the heavy-metal and towards a more romantic tone.

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• Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei goes 'Gangnam Style'

• Chinese artist Ai Weiwei warned not to attend his own court case

• Ai Weiwei turns camera on himself, citing 'global' problem

BEIJING – Over 1,000 chanting demonstrators took to the streets of the southern Chinese city of Kunming on Thursday to protest plans for a state oil refinery - the latest sign of popular anger at environmental pollution.

Some carried signs emblazoned with, “PX… Get out of Kunming,” in reference to paraxylene, a chemical used to make plastic products. If inhaled or absorbed, paraxylene can damage to the central nervous system.

Protesters who spoke to NBC News put the number of demonstrators at around 1,000, while The Associated Press reported that about 2,500 had attended. There was no explanation for the discrepancy and Kunming police declined to comment.  

The Kunning demonstration - the second in the city this month - comes amid growing anger against pollution and environmental degradation brought on by unchecked economic development throughout China.

"We don't need speedy development. What we need is a healthy and peaceful country," Kunming resident Liu Yuncheng told The Associated Press. "I still haven't given birth to a baby. I want to be pregnant and I want a healthy baby."

China National Petroleum Corp’s (CNPC) construction of paraxylene-producing petrochemical plants has sparked protests from Ningo to Xiamen. In the case of Ningbo, thousands of residents clashed with police in October, eventually prompting officials there to halt construction of an installation.

Protesters in Kunming told NBC News by telephone that they had tried to march towards city hall, but were stopped by police who formed a security cordon around them.  By mid-afternoon, demonstrators had filtered through the blocks by using side streets, effectively ending the protest.

In Kunming, local government and company officials have tried to assuage health concerns by assuring residents that the plant would maintain strict environmental standards, and not necessarily produce paraxylene.

These assurances did not assuage many residents’ fears.

“I don’t know if this protest will be effective or not,” one organizer said. “But if the government continues to build this plant, I’ll keep protesting.

Another protester said she had been pulled in for questioning by local authorities this week for about nine hours. She did not participate in Thursday’s protest.

Officials from CNPC were not available for comment.

According to the South China Morning Post, officials successfully blocked a similar protest against another proposed CNPC refinery in the provincial capital of Sichuan province, Chengdu.  Government officials announced an earthquake drill and effectively sealed off a number of landmarks where the rally had been planned, the newspaper reported. 

The Associated Press, and NBC News’ Le Li and Yanzhou Liu contributed to this report.

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Wang Ming Yi / AFP

Kong Dongmei, the granddaughter of Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong, during a visit to Taipei, Taiwan, in 2009.

BEIJING -- Anywhere else in the world, placement on a rich list would be cause for celebration.

Not so in China.

For China's richest, being listed on wealth reports can be deeply undesirable, inviting unwanted extra scrutiny from tax collectors to a general public increasingly suspicious of the origins of the wealth that has poured into the mainland from uncertain corners over the last few decades.

The latest person to find herself facing this tough media spotlight: Kong Dongmei, the granddaughter of late Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong.

With assets estimated at around $815 million, Kong and her husband, Chen Dongsheng, placed 242nd on Chinese magazine New Fortune's 500 Rich List for 2013 released this week.

The specific kind of attention attracted by such an appearance has many nicknames. One Chinese author dubbed it "The Curse of Forbes"; others have called these wealth reports "sha zhu bang" or "kill pig list."

Whatever you call it, there is no denying that the lists can be perilous for China's wealthy. A study last year entitled "The Price of Being a Billionaire in China: Evidence Based on Hurun Rich List," found that companies listed on the notorious "Hurun Rich List" had their market values rapidly decline within three years – victims of increased tax audits, cutting off of government subsidies and financial investigations.

Indeed, many who have found themselves among the lucky few have soon after landed in jail as media and government interest shifted to their business dealings.

'Honest and clean'
The irony that the granddaughter of the country's founding Communist leader is now one of its wealthiest citizens was not lost on the public here -- that despite carefully cultivating a veneer of modest living, Mao's offspring have in fact been profiting handsomely.

In 2009, another grandchild of Mao, Major General Mao Xinyu, told Chinese media, "The Mao Family heritage is honest and clean. None of the Mao family members have entered business. They all live on their modest salaries."

Meanwhile Kong authored four bestsellers about her grandfather and even ran a bookstore that specialized in Communist culture.

The revelation that Mao's granddaughter has risen to become one of China's wealthiest citizens only confirms what many in this country increasingly believe: Patronage is the path to wealth in today's Chinese society.

That perception is backed up by a recent survey conducted by Tsinghua University and reported in the Beijing Evening Post that found that college graduates in China who had a parent serving as a government official were found to earn 15 percent more than their peers.

The study also found that children of well-connected families were more likely to be recruited into sectors like finance, government agencies and international organizations, while other graduates ended up in industries like manufacturing and construction.

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BEIJING – A massive sinkhole opened up Wednesday in the southern city of Shenzhen, wreaking havoc at a residential compound and killing one.

According to the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper, the sinkhole opened up at a construction site in Shenzhen’s Futian district at around 5:20 p.m. (5:20 a.m. ET). CCTV video from a nearby residential compound shows the ground in front of a tower shaking before suddenly opening up into a chasm in two separate places.

The sinkhole, reportedly 16.5 feet in diameter and four-floors deep, swallowed up a 25-year-old security guard working in the tower. Rescue workers were able to reach the guard and take him to a nearby hospital, but he died soon after.

Shenzhen authorities are still unsure why the collapse happened. Residents interviewed by the Southern Metropolis reported recently feeling multiple tremors in the area around the construction site.

Despite assurances from an expert that unaffected areas of the residential compound were safe, residents there were reportedly reluctant to go back into their homes and instead found alternative places to stay for the night.

This is not the first time that China’s Guangdong province has dealt with mysterious sinkholes. In January, a massive manhole suddenly opened up at a construction site in the city of Guangzhou, bringing down six buildings around it. 

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China Daily / Reuters

Drug lord Naw Kham is taken from a Chinese jail to be executed on Friday.

BEIJING – A notorious gang leader and drug lord from Myanmar was among four foreigners executed in China Friday, marking the first time Beijing has extradited, tried and put to death foreign nationals. 

Naw Kham and three accomplices from Thailand and Laos were given a lethal injection in Yunnan’s provincial capital, Kunming, late Friday afternoon.

The four were found guilty last year and sentenced Wednesday for the October 2011 hijacking of two cargo ships and the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River.

But Beijing’s decision to live broadcast the final moments of the men as they waited in their cells followed by their walk to waiting police cars to the execution facility has drawn criticism across China’s websphere.

The four were additionally found guilty of smuggling drugs, kidnapping and hijacking cargo ships in the “Golden Triangle,” a section of territory that overlaps parts of Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos that accounts for much of Asia’s opium and methamphetamines production.

Beijing contends that, while Naw Kham masterminded the hijacking of the two Chinese cargo ships, he also colluded with Thai soldiers who may have been responsible for the slaying of the sailors. 

Thai authorities are investigating nine of their soldiers alleged to be involved in the incident.

The capture of Naw Kham – who was at the center of the region's bustling drug trade – was a coup for Chinese police and anti-drug ministries, which reportedly spent a year tracking the infamous smuggler.

The search was unprecedented as it marked the first time that Chinese forces were seen actively searching for foreign national criminal suspects outside of China’s borders.

Task force
The importance Beijing placed on the search was underscored by a report last month by Chinese state media that revealed a task force set up to capture Naw Kham had at one point considered a controversial plan to use an unmanned drone to bomb a suspected hideout of Naw Kham’s gang in northeastern Myanmar.   

The scheme was scrapped after the order to capture Naw Kham alive and bring him to trial was reiterated from senior leaders.

Naw Kham’s capture and subsequent trial was given significant coverage in Chinese state media. In the run up to Friday’s execution, long reports detailing the gang’s crimes, celebrating the diligent work of China’s security forces and explaining the method of execution were repeatedly played on Chinese broadcaster CCTV.

CCTV also ran two hours of live coverage leading up to the executions, showing the men’s final moments as they were led from their prison cells to execution facility. Despite rampant rumors and speculation that the state broadcaster was planning on showing the execution live, it ended its live coverage after the men were driven away.  

The magnitude of Naw Kham’s capture and execution was never underplayed, with one CCTV reporter noting that officials there were comparing Naw Kham’s case to the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

The comparison carries an undeniable message from the country’s ruling Communist Party to its people: China can and will look out for its nationals both at home and abroad.

But many in China found the live broadcast of the men’s final moments in poor taste and an uncomfortable reminder of show executions from China’s turbulent period during the Cultural Revolution.

“Even though they are deserved to die, these criminals have dignity too,” wrote one user on China’s Twitter-like service, Weibo, “The Cultural Revolution is back.”

“China is a country without humanity,” lamented another.

“CCTV is as cruel as these criminals,” one user bluntly noted. 

Mo Shaoping, a prominent criminal lawyer and advisor at the Central University of Finance and Economics Law School, argued that Beijing’s decision to broadcast the prisoners’ final moments was less about striking a nationalist chord and more about showing how the country has improved its handling of the death penalty – a sensitive topic for China’s leadership.

“China has made progress in how it deals with the death penalty,” Mo said. “showing everything live helps people see that prisoners are being treated humanely in their final moments.”

Indeed, much of the commentary on CCTV as cameras rolled on Naw Kham in his cell discussed how he had been given a full doctor’s inspection and that officers in the room had made small chat and offered cigarettes to the kingpin to help him relax.

They also noted that Naw had actually gained weight and looked healthier after months under Chinese supervision.

Mo also noted that the use of lethal injection mean that potential donor organs could not be harvested from the men, addressing another common criticism of China’s previous handling of state executions.

NBC News Le Li contributed to this report.