The Power

Sunday, December 14, 2008

mother accused of selling newborn twin boys for £9,000 to pay for cosmetic surgery

A mother has been accused of selling newborn twin boys for £9,000 to pay for cosmetic surgery. Sonia Ringoir, a 31-year-old restaurant worker from the Belgian tourist haven of Ghent, was arrested and charged last week after the allegations were made by her estranged husband.

Marc Poppe, 48, told an undercover reporter for Dutch television that Ringoir had sold the babies to a friend to fund liposuction, the fat removal procedure. He said the couple had searched the internet to find a quick way of making money: “It was financially attractive to us. Of course we wouldn’t do it for nothing.”

Since Belgium has no law banning the sale of children, Ringoir has been charged with “degrading treatment” of the twins. She has also been charged with fraud after a Dutch couple alleged she had conned them by falsely offering to be a surrogate mother. If convicted, she could face between one month and five years in jail.

After spending five days in jail, Ringoir was released last Wednesday to await the results of police inquiries. She denied the allegations, claiming she gave her babies away for free last March to a friend who could not have her own child because of a weak heart. more

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