A Chinese man was arrested this week for selling his three-day-old daughter to a strange couple he met on a social media for £5,700.

Surveillance footage captured Mr. Zhao, the father of the child walking out of a maternity hospital in eastern China carrying the newborn to the buyers just three day after the child was born. 

The girl was reportedly taken to a new home 160 miles away after she was sold to a childless couple. 

According to police in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, the father carried out the illegal transaction through a friend who helped him post an advertisement on popular Chinese messaging platform WeChat. 

The authorities said they were alerted of the case in April by web users who saw a 'baby on sale' post in a chatting group on WeChat.

Officers found out the person who had uploaded the post was a resident of Changzhou, identified as Wang, a friend of Zhao. 

Zhao's wife, Sun, admitted to police that she and her husband had sold their baby. She claimed they 'were not capable of raising the child'.  

The purchasing couple, Li and Gao, also admitted to their wrongdoing. They told police they had been married 'for years' and had not been able to have a baby due to poor health.

According to them, as soon as they saw the advertisement, they agreed to buy the child and paid the deposit before then travelling to Suqian to get the girl from Zhao. 

Zhao's wife, the middleman and the purchasing couple have also been detained. 

The baby has been taken to a governmental welfare centre to be looked after. Zhao and his wife alongside others involved in the transaction are facing up to 10-years in prison if they are found guilty of child trafficking. 

Watch the video below.