Couple accused of selling newborn son

A YOUNG couple in east China's Jiangsu Province has been caught after allegedly selling their newborn son online.

The unmarried couple could not obtain legal identity papers for the baby nor support the child on their meager income, today's Yangtze Evening News reported.

The man was detained and the woman was put on bail due to her health condition, both facing charges of child trafficking, the newspaper said.

Police in Changzhou City started investigating after being tipped off about online posts by an expectant mother advertising her baby for sale for 15,000 yuan (US$2,197.16), police told the newspaper.

They traced the poster's IP address and found the advertiser was in Changzhou. Eight days later, they caught the woman suspect, surnamed Xie, 22, and her boyfriend surnamed Yao, 23.

The baby is now in Changzhou. A childless couple working for the government in Zhejiang Province's Quzhou City was reported to have bought the baby after its birth on November 11.

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