Philippine teen arrested over alleged US$845 baby sale as police warn of rise in cases
Police said the teenager had posted the offer online and intended to use the money to cover her tuition
The 17-year-old was caught on Tuesday after police officers contacted her in response to her online post and arranged a meeting, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“We found out from her mother that the teenager had spent the money for her tuition. So her plan was to use the money she would get from selling her baby to cover her tuition,” Sheila Portento, chief of the police’s Women and Children’s Protection Centre, told the newspaper.
The mother and baby were later handed over to the Quezon City Social Services Department.
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Investigators also found that the teenager had been communicating with a person in Japan who had promised to send her money in exchange for the baby, police said.