BERLIN, May 25: German police said on Sunday they had taken a seven-month-old baby away from a couple in Bavaria who are under investigation after putting the child for sale on Internet auction site Ebay.

The baby boy was put on sale on Tuesday at a starting price of $1.58 and was withdrawn from the site around two-and-a-half hours later, police said. There had been no offers.

The mother said it was meant as a joke, but police failed to see the funny side, putting the baby into care and launching interrogation of both parents for attempted child trafficking, a statement said.—APP