Chinese man jailed for selling newborn to buy lottery tickets

Posted: 5/9/2005 10:57:00 AM

A father who sold his newborn son to raise money to buy lottery tickets was sentenced to 10 years in prison in China's latest baby-trafficking case, a newspaper reported Monday.

The man, identified only by the family name Zhang, sold his baby boy for 9,000 yuan, the equivalent of about $1,350, because "he had dreams of becoming rich overnight," the Beijing Daily Messenger reported.

"Evil father sold his own son to buy lottery tickets," the headline read.

The Fugou County Court in central China's Henan province sentenced him to 10 years in jail and fined him 5,000 yuan, the newspaper said.

Mr. Zhang, 35, had previously served five years in jail for stealing, the paper added.

The man has at least one other child. There was no word on the fate of his infant son.

The Chinese government says thousands of children are abducted or bought from poor families every year for sale to childless couples or families who want more children.

The trade is partly driven by China's policy limiting most couples to one child. The limit prompts some parents to sell, abandon or kill baby girls in hopes of trying again for a boy.

China says it is cracking down against such practices. In several highly publicized cases, leaders of baby-trafficking gangs have been sentenced to death.

Source: AP