A Chinese couple was sentenced to three years in jail for selling their new-born daughter online to buy an and a motorbike with the funds, a media report said.

The father of the child, A. Duan, sold his 18-day-old daughter for $3,530 on the social media site QQ, while the child's mother also supported the man's decision saying they did not know it was illegal, People's Daily online reported on Tuesday.

A. Duan spent most of time in internet cafes while the mother, Xiao Mei, reportedly worked in many part-time jobs in Tong'an district in China.

"I myself was adopted, and many people in my hometown send their kids to other people to raise them. I really did not know that it was illegal," Mei said.

The couple met at work in 2013 and after plans for their marriage were shelved, their child was born following an unwanted pregnancy.

Both of them were 19-year-old at the time and finding his newborn daughter to be a financial burden, the man sold her to buy the material possessions he desired.

The woman, who fled from Tong'an after the deal, was tracked down.

Mei has been awarded a two-and-half years' suspended sentence and A. Duan was sentenced to three years in jail, the report said.

The newborn was purchased for the unnamed buyer's sister and is still with the buyer as the biological parents are not in a financial position to raise the child.

The buyer allegedly turned to police after acquiring the infant.