Child in foreigner 'adoption' scandal dies

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An 8-year-old girl who was one of 11 children "adopted" by an foreign man accused of abusing them has died in a Beijing hospital. 

An 8-year-old girl who was one of 11 children "adopted" by an foreign man accused of abusing them has died in a Beijing hospital.

The little girl, known as "Phoebe," underwent surgery at the Capital Institute of Pediatrics in Beijing for a bowel obstruction and kidney damage last Tuesday, but died on Sunday night, reported the Legal Evening News.

She was one of 11 children said to be under the care of an American man.

According to an earlier report, Phoebe said that she had been injured by the man.

And volunteer helpers said they saw the man strike the "adopted" children.

He has been questioned by local police and the remaining 10 children sent to the juvenile aid and protection center, said yesterday's report.

The center will carry out DNA tests on the children and see if any were abducted and trafficked.

The man is from the United States and is named "Lemoine" said a 76-year-old Chinese woman, surnamed Guo, who told the newspaper that she had been employed by him to look after the children for years.

It was reported earlier by the newspaper that the man had been raising 11 abandoned Chinese children with congenital diseases in the past decade without legally adopting them.

Volunteers said the man had threatened them to stop them going to the authorities, according to the newspaper.

They said that he posted photographs and stories of the children on websites outside China in order to raise money for medical treatment for their conditions.

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