A Chinese man who sold his infant daughter in order to pay for an iPhone and a motorbike has been handed a three year jail term.
'A Duan' (not his real name) from Tong'an, Fujian province, south eastern China, found a buyer for his 18-day-old child online, according to People's Daily Online.
He met the buyer on the social media network QQ, selling the baby for 23,000 Yuan (roughly £2500). The mother, 'Xiao Mei' (also not her real name) is said to have worked at a series of temporary jobs while her partner spent most of his time browsing at internet cafes.
The couple met at work back in 2013 and, after plans for their marriage were shelved with neither party meeting the legal age, their child was born following an unwanted pregnancy.
Both parents were 19 at the time and being short of money and finding his newborn daughter to be a financial burden, A Duan eagerly took up the opportunity to traffic her off in order to buy the material possessions he desired.
The unnamed buyer, who later turned himself into police, purchased the baby for his sister, in whose possession the child still remains while police determine the best course of action.
Xiao Mei fled from Tong'an, with the intention of starting a new life.
A Duan is said to have repeatedly threatened his partner lest she returned, but she refused and found another job in another city.
However, she was later tracked down and caught by police officers investigating the illegal sale.
According to reports, she told police: 'I myself was adopted, and many people in my hometown send their kids to other people to raise them. I really didn't know that it was illegal.'
As well as giving A Duan a three year sentence, Xiao Mei was handed a suspended sentence of two and a half years according to The Epoch Times.
As many as 200,000 boys and girls are kidnapped in China every year and sold openly online, it was estimated last year by Chinese media.
Child trafficking has been a long-standing problem in China, but despite the efforts of the authorities, the sinister practice is thriving, leading to thousands of families being torn apart.
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