A 31-year-old man was arrested in Tsakane near Boksburg on Monday for allegedly selling his 18-day-old baby, East Rand police said.
Superintendent Andy Pieke said the man was arrested when he accompanied his 17-year-old girlfriend to the Tsakane police station to report that the baby had been stolen.
Police became suspicious and questioned the man, who allegedly admitted that he had sold the baby.
Pieke said the man and his girlfriend said they met a woman on Friday who promised to buy clothes for the baby.
The woman took the child, got into a taxi and left. When the girlfriend became worried, the man assured her that the woman would return with the baby. She never did.
The man allegedly admitted on Monday that he had been paid a sum of money by the woman for the baby. The child is believed to be in KwaZulu-Natal.
The East Rand child protection unit was attempting to trace the woman and child, Pieke said. – Sapa