WANG SHANGKUN CHENSE TEEN WHO SOLD KIDNEY TO BUY IPAD TOO WEAK TO FACE ALLEGED HARVESTERS IN TRIALN

A teenage boy who sold his kidney to buy apple products was too weak to attend the trial of the group who allegredly harvested his organ last year, the state-run china daily report
in april 2011, wang shangkuns mother discovered thet her then17-year-old son had sold his kidney and had bought  and ipa and iphone wiht the money. now 18 wang suffers rom a decreased level kidney functionaccording to NPR
china daily notes that due to his health wang was unable to appear in court but his mother was quated  as saying her son did not in fact sell the organ specally to buy new gadget.
wangs  family  lies in anhui province a poor region in central china, where in habitants frequenly leave home to find bette work, according to reuters.

Apple products, which are often manufactured in huge complexes in China are still generally too expensive for members of the country's working class, the New York Times notes.

The five defendants on trialare charged with intentional injury and illegal organ trading, and if convicted, they could face up to 10 years in prison. Four others who are suspected of playing smaller roles in the alleged crime could face fines, according to China Daily.

citing court documents, xinhua report  that wangs first made contact with the alleged harvester through Internet chat rooms. He Wei, reportedly the leader of the gang, then made arrangements to hire a surgeon who worked at a nearby military hospital. He Wei walked away with 220,000 yuan, or close to $35,000. Wang received the equivalent of about $3,500 for his kidney. the rest of the money was divided up among the gang