Couple Offers Daughter For Sale To Fund Twin Brother's Leukaemia Treatment
The couple later claimed it was a publicity stunt.
By Alyssa J. Oon — 20 Aug 2018, 06:51 PM
A desperate couple in China have come under fire from citizens for an apparent attempt to sell their daughter
In a photo that went viral, the children’s father Liang Yujia carried his daughter on one arm and held onto a sign in his other hand.
The sign supposedly offered the young girl to anyone who could cover the cost of her twin brother’s leukaemia treatment in return.
In the sign, the couple described their daughter as "lively and cute" but that they were “unable to provide a good life for her”, according to The Straits Times.
The son, who goes by the nickname Cheng Cheng, was diagnosed with an acute form of leukaemia in early July.
Liang and his wife Chen Lanqin claimed the photo was only meant to draw attention to their fundraising efforts
The couple felt the gimmick would help them raise the 500,000 to 600,000 yuan (RM299,100 to RM358,920) needed for Cheng Cheng’s treatment.
“I really regret doing so now, but we were running out of options at that time,” Liang said to Beijing-based newspaper Fawan, reported South China Morning Post.
“We were anxious about not being able to find enough money, so we came up with this idea,” Liang added.
Chen told the Beijing Youth Daily that people had enquired about the costs to adopt their daughter, but the couple refused all of the offers.
Following complaints from the public, the couple’s fundraising campaigns on three different platforms have been frozen
The couple had raised a rough total of 90,000 yuan (RM53,840) from the three platforms.
However, one of the platforms had looked into the reports and have since restarted the couple’s campaign on the condition that the funds go directly to the hospital that is treating Cheng Cheng.
Donations had also poured in through mobile payments on WeChat after the photo went viral, but the couple’s account has since been frozen as well.
As their last resort, the couple are now considering selling their house to support treatment costs for Cheng Cheng, reported The Beijing News.