A court in central China's Henan Province has sentenced an unmarried couple to prison for selling their son.

The couple from Qingfeng County sold their baby boy because they feared he would worsen their financial burden, according to the verdict issued by the county court on Tuesday.

Both aged 24, the unmarried couple had been living together since 2010 and gave birth to their third child in January.

Liu, the father, proposed selling the baby and, with the help of a doctor, the couple sold the infant at a price of 100,000 yuan (16,300 U.S. dollars) to a villager in March.

The case came to light after the police received a report from the boy's grandfather.

Liu was sentenced to five years in prison, and the mother, Lyu, was sentenced to three years with a five-year reprieve. The court also imposed a fine of 50,000 yuan and ordered confiscation of their illegal gains.