Chinese Woman Sells Sons To Tip Live-Streaming Hosts, Buy Clothes

A 26-year-old mother from China has confessed to selling her two biological sons for a total of about $11,600, approximately Rs 10 lakh.

The woman, Huang, from Guangxi province, used the money to buy clothes and upscale goods, as well as to fund tips for live-streaming hosts, the South China Morning Post reported. She has been sentenced to over five years in prison.

Huang, who was adopted as a child and only completed basic school, first sold her son to a relative, Li, in October 2020 for 45,000 yuan, approximately Rs 5 lakh.

She was unable to raise him due to financial difficulties and due to not knowing who the father was.

Li's family sought adoption due to infertility issues, and Huang allegedly used the entire amount to give generously to live-streamers online, according to the SCMP report.

Officials claimed Huang purposefully had a second child in 2022 to repeat the pattern when the cash ran out. She paid a broker 38,000 Yuan (Rs 4.5 lakh) for her newborn son, Guyu.

The broker then sold him for 103,000 Yuan, approximately Rs 12 lakh. Huang allegedly used all the money earned for self-indulgent expenditures and virtual tipping.

The boys were rescued in April 2022 after authorities received a notification over dubious chat logs that described the children's sale. Following their rescue, the two boys were taken into the custody of the local civil affairs authorities and are currently awaiting adoption.

On July 8, 2025, the Fuzhou Jin'an District People's Court found Huang guilty of fraud and trafficking and sentenced her to five years and two months in prison. She was also fined 30,000 Yuan (approximately Rs 3 lakh).

Huang's accomplices, Li and her former landlord, Wei, were also sentenced to prison: Wei was given a seven-month prison sentence, and Li was handed a nine-month sentence with a one-year suspension for buying a trafficked child.

Human trafficking, particularly involving children, is a recurring problem throughout China, according to experts. Social pressures to carry on the male lineage have long motivated illegal adoptions, but current anti-trafficking laws are a step towards eradicating this scourge.