A couple desperate to have a boy have landed in trouble after spending N4.7 million to buy a boy.

A Chinese couple with seven daughters allegedly bought a baby boy to carry on their family name, Telegraph UK has reported. The couple from south China’s Guangdong province paid 92,000 yuan (£10,700/N4.7 million) for the "abducted" child, a court heard.

Poor communities often have a traditional preference for male offspring, who can provide support to their elderly parents and carry on the family name. Women join their husband’s family tree after they marry, even after death.

However, the decision has landed the couple in trouble as they are standing trial for child trafficking. However, the couple claim they were repeatedly assured by the people who introduced the child to them that he had not been trafficked.

They say they had met a woman who claimed to be the child’s mother. However, one of the traffickers told the court that the woman was her niece, who was unrelated to the child. An “adoption agreement” was signed and money for the child’s “living expenses” before the “adoption” was handed over.

The husband, who is called Chen, said he bought the child to carry on his family name, a report by Meizhou Radio and Television said.

"I have seven daughters, and the oldest is 18 and the youngest is two,” said Mr Chen.

“We prefer boys in my hometown, and that is why we wanted to adopt a boy.”

The couple are among eight people who are facing child trafficking charges.