Dad charged for selling infant

A man who sold his baby daughter because he feared he would not be able to afford to keep her has been charged with child trafficking, prosecutors in Minhang District said yesterday.

The 28-year-old migrant worker surnamed Wang sold the child in January for 28,600 yuan (US$4,600) when she was just three months old. The infant was the youngest of four children, and Wang and his wife were under severe financial pressure, he said.

Prosecutors said the couple, who originate from Guizhou Province, met a family from Jiangsu Province who agreed to buy the child, but just a day after handing her over, they were filled with remorse and went to police to confess what they had done.

Despite being poor, Wang said that he and his wife had tried for a fourth child as in their hometown it is considered good luck to have two sons and two daughters. They already had two daughters and a son.