POOR parents of a newborn child in southern Bangladesh auctioned off their baby to repay a loan from a local micro-credit bank.
The auction took place in the impoverished hamlet of Farhadabad in Fatikchari sub-district, 290km south of the capital, Dhaka, over the weekend, said the daily, Ittefaq.
The announcement of the sale attracted more than a dozen bidders, many coming from outside the district.
The newspaper, quoting local reporters, said the baby was sold at a price of 20,000 taka ($351).
Chikon Mia and Humaira Khatoon, parents of the baby, said they already had two children who they were barely able to feed.
“We do not have enough money to feed the two children. How can I possibly feed a third one?” Ms Khatoon asked.
The landless family fell into hard times and took out a small loan last year to tide them over an economic crisis. But the farming couple failed to repay the loan in time and plunged into deeper financial problems.
After the couple’s request to the bank to reschedule the unpaid loan was turned down, they put the baby up for auction.
Nearly 40 per cent of Bangladesh’s 130 million people live under the United Nation’s designated poverty line.
