Four men have been imprisoned in East China for identifying the gender of unborn children and carrying out abortions.

The men worked in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, between May and June last year.

According to a China News report, two of the men, identified as Liu and Huang, purchased two cars to store ultrasound equipment and hired to others to help them.

Police said they carried out 736 gender-identification procedures and 15 abortions.

Identifying the gender of a fetus is illegal in China because a cultural preference for boys means female fetuses are sometimes aborted.

Huang was sentenced to 46 months in prison and fined 70,000 yuan, while Liu received 40 months and a fine of 60,000 yuan.

The other defendants were given sentences of 20 to 24 months and fined 25,000 to 30,000 yuan.

The cars and ultrasound equipment was confiscated.