A 40-year-old man has been arrested in China after allegedly taking a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl to a hospital for a check-up.

Various media outlets reports that the man initially claimed the youngster to be his “wife”, saying she needed a standard test to make sure her unborn child was healthy.

It’s believed the pair were accompanied at the hospital in East China’s Jiangsu province by another woman claiming to be the girl’s mother-in-law.

Medics immediately called the police when the two adults said the girl was 20-years-old.

On Friday, state-run news agency E-C-N-S cited local police as saying they have also detained the woman for abducting the Vietnamese girl.

China has a history of purchasing Vietnamese brides from across the country’s southern border.

– TiVi Tuan-san