Woman desperate for a child snatches a girl, 2, at a busy train station before being caught by the toddler's mother

A 40-year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly trying to abduct a two-year-old girl in front of the child’s mother at a busy train station in China.

The suspect, known by her surname Chen, was desperate for a child after having trouble getting pregnant, she told police.

The incident took place at around 5:45pm last Tuesday, reported Shanghai Media Group citing Shanghai Railway Police.

Police said the woman pushed an empty buggy on a crowded square in front of Shanghai Railway Station before attempting to snatch the toddler who was travelling with her family.

According to reports, the child was waiting to board a train to her hometown of Zhengzhou with her mother, grandmother and twin brother. Her mother, known by her surname Wang, was resting near the south-eastern exit of the transport hub with her family when Chen approached them, carrying an unoccupied pushchair.

Surveillance footage released by Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper shows Chen making a beeline for the girl, who was walking towards her mother. The suspect then lifted up the child to put her into the buggy.

However, the child’s mother immediately stopped Chen and grabbed her daughter back. She then confronted Chen and yelled for help.

Seeing this, the child’s grandmother ran up to Chen, grasping her by her arms to stop her from escaping.

Speaking to Shanghai Media Group, a distraught Wang recalled the horrifying moment, saying: “My child was there and she (Chen) grabbed her and wanted to leave. She (said to my child) ‘come with mum’, and then prepared to flee.”

The suspect initially claimed to an officer that she had mistaken Wang’s daughter for her own child. But the officer soon found out that Chen’s son was already 20 years old. The suspect then confessed that she wanted to have a baby with her boyfriend, but had been having trouble conceiving.

She said she had gone to Shanghai to visit relatives and was on her way to nearby city Wuxi to work on a construction site.

She said when she passed the train station, she found the girl “very cute” and suddenly wanted to take the child with her.

While being asked why she had an empty buggy, Chen claimed that she needed it to carry her luggage.

The suspect has been detained on suspicion of child abduction, which could see her being jailed for up to 10 years. The case is being investigated further.