Chinese Man Sold His Newborn Daughter for Money to Buy an iPhone

Children are the future, so they say. They’re also the cornerstone of family values and the apple of their parent’s eyes. Simply put: the birth of a child can put a whole new spin on its parent’s way of life, and is perhaps one of the most worthwhile investments they’ll ever make.

However, this age-old philosophy isn’t necessarily the norm for everybody. I mean, surely children are invaluable everywhere, right? Well if you believe that, as most people do, it might seem crazy to think how a price tag could ever be placed upon them? That’s a difficult, if not downright troubling, question to answer — though maybe not too difficult for the 19-year-old Chinese native known only as ‘A Duan’ by mainland Chinese media outlets.

So the story goes, strangely enough, Mr. A Duan reportedly sold his newborn, 18-day old daughter — without the mother’s consent, mind you — for enough cash to purchase a motorcycle and one of Apple’s iPhone handsets.

Duan reportedly was able to find a buyer, sight unseen, on the popular messaging app QQ, and negotiated the entire deal without his partner’s consent.

This certainly wouldn’t be the first instance in which we’ve seen cases of people enacting strange, desperate measures, however — all just to get their hands on some of Apple’s most beloved products.

Just last year, for example, two Chinese men reportedly tried to sell one of each of their kidneys to a local Chinese hospital in the Jiangsu Province for money to buy one of Apple’s iPhone 6s handsets. One of the men ultimately chickened out in that case, however, opting instead to go AWOL — and hasn’t been heard from or seen ever since.

In the case of the 18-day old girl, however, the sale reportedly took place in the city of Tong’an, China, where Mr. Duan was able to negotiate the price of $3,500 with the buyer. Authorities maintain that the newborn’s mother was under the age of consent at the time of the child’s conception; and, perhaps understandably, when she ultimately found out that the father had sold the infant for an iPhone, she was so distraught that she fled the city and couldn’t be located for almost a year.

“I myself was adopted, and many in my hometown sell their children, because they can’t grow them,” the mother said, according to police reports. “I really didn’t know it was illegal.”

Perhaps you’re shaking your head in disbelief at this point, however we hope you’re able to take comfort in knowing that the father (and the mother) were both found guilty and sentenced to jail time, accordingly. Though the sentences were lenient due to the poor economic circumstances the couple was afflicted by.

Mr. Duan will serve a 3-year sentence, and his partner will serve just 2 and a half.. And, as for the baby girl, well, she’ll continue to be raised by the buyer — seeing as how neither of her parents are in suitable condition to raise her.

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