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Newborn twins were sold for a sum of around $9,000 so their mom could pay off some credit card debts. The woman, identified by her family name, Ma, sold the twin boys off to two different families in China that lived over 400 miles from her hometown.
According to reports, the twins’ father, who is identified by the family name Wu, wasn’t present last September when they were born. The father’s parents also wanted nothing to do with the infants, leaving Ma on her own to handle the costs and duties of raising the two children. Her own family didn’t want to help with the situation because they disapproved of her pre-marital pregnancy.
Due to her credit card debts, lack of support and two very young children, Ma couldn’t bear the weight of the pressure anymore. In order to tackle two problems at once, she decided to sell the kids to different families, use the money to pay off her debts, and then start fresh.
After selling them, however, Wu demanded they use the money to pay off his gambling debts. The money, however, had already been spent on Ma’s debts.
Ma and her partner, Wu, were both arrested for their role in selling the children. Child trafficking can carry a sentence of up to ten years in China. The boys were located by authorities due to several tip-offs that the boys had been sold to two different families. When the boys were each found, the adoptive families were told the severity of the situation and handed them over to authorities.
Following the arrest of Ma and Wu, the twins were given to their grandparents to take care of them. The children are said to be in fine health and will be fine with their families, according to authorities. Ironically, this means that Ma’s parents, who wanted nothing to do with the children, will now be their caretakers.
The number of sad realities at play in this story are mind-boggling. Young love leading to pre-marital pregnancy, parents disavowing their children across multiple generations, young people struggling to make ends meet. It’s all just terribly sad.
