A young Chinese couple sold their six-day-old son for 2,500 yuan ($368) to buy a mobile phone in the country's southwest, the Shanghai Daily paper reported.
The paper said the couple, who live in the Chongqing Municipality, are both unemployed. The mother is 19 and the father 21.
"I have no job and cannot support myself, let alone the baby," the paper quoted the father as saying. He added that he didn't want the baby back.
The mother later said she would take the boy back and raise him, but police have said the couple is unable to give the child a good home. The child is currently in hospital.
The baby was sold twice before eyewitnesses alerted police. He was initially bought by a 43-year-old man, who later attempted to resell the baby for 10,000 yuan ($1,470), claiming he was his uncle.
In April, China launched a nationwide anti-kidnapping campaign. According to police statistics over 80 kidnapping gangs have since been uncovered, and over 450 children freed. In late November, China executed two men found guilty of kidnapping 15 children.
Child trafficking is a lucrative trade on the Chinese black market. Children are first stolen from their parents in rural areas, then sold to prosperous childless couples for up to $10,000. The majority of stolen children are boys, preferred for being able to continue the family line. -- (
RIA Novosti)
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