A former Chinese nanny who allegedly abducted her client's toddler son in 1992 has helped the young man to find his birth parents more than two decades later as a way to 'redeem her sins'.

He Xiaoping, 49, admitted she stole the 15-month-old boy from his home in Chongqing after posing as a nanny using a fake identity.

She told Chinese media she was desperate for a child at the time because both of her sons had died in infancy.

He Xiaoping shows reporters a picture of her son, who she took from her client in 1992. She said she was told by fortune tellers she must steal a child in order to ward off bad luck

Liu Jinxin was allegedly abducted by his nanny when he was 15 months old (left). Now 27 (right), the man has managed to find his birth mother after Ms He resorted to media for help

She said she was told by fortune tellers she must steal a child in order to ward off bad luck.

Last year, Ms He decided to find her son's birth parents after watching a TV programme, which featured an elderly mother spending her whole life finding her missing child.

Ms He told Chongqing Evening News she was touched by the show and felt guilty about her wrongdoing.

She said: 'I must reveal the evil deeds (I did). Only by doing that can I redeem my sins.'

Ms He explained to the reporter what happened 26 years earlier.

On the fateful day in June, she told the boy's mother she would go shopping with the child, who was one year and three months old.

But instead she fled to her hometown in the nearby county of Nanchong taking the toddler and never went back.

She had worked in the family for just a week.

The nanny admitted she stole the toddler boy from his home in Chongqing (pictured) after posing as a nanny using a fake identity. She took him home to raise. She told Chinese reporters last year: 'I must reveal the evil deeds (I did). Only by doing that can I redeem my sins'

Ms He brought up the toddler and called him Liu Jinxin, which is the name of her second son. Her neighbours never knew that the real Liu Jinxin had died, therefore they thought the 'stolen' boy was Ms He's own child.

Ms He claimed to have raised the boy as her own and done whatever she could to give him a best life possible.

She also said Jinxin brought her good fortune as she gave birth to a daughter in 1995 who was healthy.

A single mother, Ms He raised Jinxin and her daughter by doing odd jobs. She later became a businesswoman and managed to buy a three-bedroom flat in Nanchong.

She told Chongqing Evening News: 'I know I did evil deeds, but I have been raising my son as my own. My son has also treated me as his real mother.'

Ms He contacted the Chongqing Evening News in hope of finding clues to her long-lost client. She also visited the neighbourhood she had worked in Chongqing to hunt for leads.

She managed to find Jinxin's birth mother, Zhu Xiaojuan, through the help of journalists last February. A DNA paternity test confirmed that Zhu Xiaojuan is Liu Xinjin's mother.

The arrival of Jinxin turned Ms Zhu's life upside down.

Faced with the sudden change of life, Ms Zhu said her life had been ruined by Ms He and she refused to recognise Jinxin as her son.

She told Kan Kan News she regarded Jinxin as a 'useless' youngster who was a loser. She claimed that Jinxin was not successful in life and his relationships, and he was addicted to alcohol.

She accused Ms He: 'You not only stole my son, but also raised him to be like this. Now you feel the pressure and don't want him anymore. You wish to rid the burden. You can't do whatever you want.'

More surprisingly, Ms Zhu revealed that she thought she had found her missing son as early as 1995.

She said she had been looking for her son since 1992. So when she read that a number of abducted boys had been rescued in Henan in 1995, she immediately contacted the police.

One of the boys, named Pan Pan, looked like her missing son. A DNA paternity test from the Supreme People's Court of Henan claimed that Pan Pan was Ms Zhu's son.

Ms Zhu had been raising Pan Pan since then believing he was her child until the appearance of Jinxin last year.

The heartbroken mother is in the process of suing the Supreme People's Court of Henan for a 2.95 million (£336,000) payout for the wrong DNA report.

In an interview with China's Red Star News this week, Ms Zhu said she was willing to forgive Ms He for stealing her son.

'After all she raised him. Let it be,' Ms Zhu said.