Couple Sells Newborn To Buy iPhone, Unplanned Baby Sold For £2,500

A man and woman are in trouble after they sold their 18-day-old daughter so they could buy a new iPhone. The parents received £2,500 in return for handing the baby over to the buyer.

The parents, both from Tong’un, Fujian Province in China, claim they were not aware that selling a child is illegal, according to Metro.

The father, using the pseudonym A Duan, actively searched for a buyer via internet chat rooms on social media, hoping to make enough money off of the child so that he could purchase a new iPhone. The mother, using the pseudonym Xiao Mei, went along with the plan, claiming she was not aware that selling the child was illegal and doesn’t feel that she did anything wrong. Both parents are 19 years old.

“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.”

Neither the mother nor the father wanted to have a child and claimed it was an accidental pregnancy. Since the pair were struggling financially, they decided it was best to simply sell the baby and purchase something more useful to them, namely the iPhone.

A Duan has been charged with the crime and sentenced to three years in jail. Xiao Mei received only two and a half years for her part in the crime, according to the Huffington Post.

The man that bought the newborn baby claims that he purchased the child for his sister and was not aware of what the couple was going to do with the money. At this time, the buyer’s sister still has the newborn baby in custody while the case is still under investigation. Chinese authorities are not sure whether they will allow the woman to keep the child, or if the child will be placed into the system until further action is decided.

The transaction was so casual and out in the open that the entire situation is quite shocking to the authorities and everyone involved. The parents’ claim that they were unaware of the illegal nature of the sale has some wondering if laws should be clarified.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time an incident such as this has happened in China. In 2013, a Chinese couple sold three of their babies for enough money to purchase iPhones. The three transactions took place between 2008 and 2011, according to CNN. The babies were sold via correspondence through QQ, a Chinese messaging system. The couple sold their three babies for a total of $13,000 U.S. In addition to iPhones, the couple also purchased luxury shoes.

The popularity of iPhones, especially the newest models, has many people doing silly things to have the latest and greatest of the Apple phone. However, most would not think about selling a child in order to obtain a new iPhone.

In each case, the Chinese parents claimed that the sale of the baby was to better the child’s life; to present the child with opportunities that they would otherwise not be able to provide. However, in each case, the parents did not know about the child’s adopter.

Although an iPhone is a popular luxury item in many cultures, most do not feel that selling a baby, especially a newborn, is a morally sound way to obtain the funds necessary for the Apple device.

Despite the absurd nature of the crime, trafficking of babies in China is a real issue. Since 2011, the Ministry of Public Security has rescued 29 newborns in China, saving them from unknown futures. In each case, the babies were sold by their biological parents.

[Photo Via: Siixth/Shutterstock]