Boy found after being sold by mother's net lover

A missing 6-year-old boy has been found by Shunyi police after being sold by his mother's online lover, Beijing Times reported on Tuesday. The man has since been detained.

The mother, surnamed Jiao, from Henan province, divorced two years ago and decided to come to Beijing with her son for a fresh start.

In August 2009, Jiao met and fell in love with a Shunyi villager, surnamed Shang, through online chat. The couple moved in together in the district two months later.

Shortly after, Shang proposed that Jiao's son, Xiaoxin, be sent to his parents so they could be alone. Xiaoxin was taken to Changyuan county in Henan province by Shang's mother.

One week later, Shang left the couple's home, claiming he had a short business trip to make. While he was away, Jiao repeatedly phoned Shang to inquire after Xiaoxin, but was always told the boy was fine. Shang then stopped answering calls from Jiao.

Jiao traveled to Changyuan county in March 2010 but didn't find Xiaoxin at the family home. Shang then called Jiao and told her that Xiaoxin had been sent to her brother, which she quickly checked and found to be untrue. Shang's second call to Jiao was made with a threat to kill her family if she called the police.

Jiao returned to Beijing and reported the situation to Tianzhu police station, Shunyi district, on May 31.

After 10 days of investigation, the police captured Shang in his grandmother's house, also in Changyuan county, who confessed that Xiaoxin had been sold to locals for 46,000 yuan.

Beijing police journeyed to the area and rescued Xiaoxin, reuniting him with his mother on June 11. The case was transferred to Henan police for further investigation.