Beijing: A financially-distraught man in China has been caught while trying to sell his six-year-old daughter for USD 8,500 to raise money for his business.
The man has since been arrested, and the case is currently under investigation, state-run People’s Daily Online reported.
The man’s daughter was born in 2010. However, after her birth, the man and his then-girlfriend ended their relationship due to financial pressure and familial problems.
He then moved with his daughter to Yibin in southwestern Sichuan province, where his sister took charge of raising the girl.
Dissatisfied with his employment options, the man planned to open a shop, but did not have sufficient start-up capital.
In order to raise the money, he decided to see what kind of a price his own daughter would fetch, the report said.
On the Internet, he contacted a childless man surnamed Wu who lived in eastern Jiangsu province.
The two agreed to a price of 50,000 yuan (USD 8,500).
Fortunately, while the man and his daughter were en route to Jiangsu, his sister discovered the plan and reported her brother to the police.
The little girl is now in the custody of her aunt.
