Chinese Parents Sell Their Newborn Daughter for an iPhone, Claim They Didn’t Know it was Illegal

The young man, identified as “A Duan” in local media reports, received 23,000 yuan ($3,535) from a stranger in exchange for his 18-day-old daughter a year ago, reported the Xiamen Daily News (via The Epoch Times). He purchased an iPhone and motorcycle with the funds.

The transaction happened in Tong’an, a city in eastern China’s Fujian province, after he found a buyer on social media platform QQ who wanted to buy the baby for his sister.

The baby’s biological mother, whose identity was not reported, was under the age of consent when it was conceived and worked temporary jobs to support herself and her family. She was upset after learning A Duan had sold their daughter and soon after left the city.

“I myself was adopted, and many people in my hometown send their kids to other people to raise them,” she said. “I really didn’t know that it was illegal.”

Both of the baby’s biological parents were eventually arrested by police. The baby’s buyer turned himself in afterward.

The judge in the case doled out reduced penalties on A Duan and the baby’s biological mother because of their circumstances. A Duan did not finish high school and spent most of his time in internet cafes. The baby’s mother is helping raise her younger brother in middle school and is a caretaker for her parents, both of whom have disabilities.