Outrage as Solomon Island father bets his son against Oz

Link : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/041006/323/f3zz2.html

AUCKLAND (AFP) - Welfare authorities in the Solomon Islands have reacted with outrage after a local football fan offered his eight-year-old son as bait for a bet on the Solomons' clash with Australia, reports said.

Saturday's game, a Confederations Cup qualifier, is the biggest sporting event in the history of the Solomons which, just over a year ago, was struggling against bankruptcy following a three-year-long civil war.

The Solomon Star newspaper said Filia Mamae wanted to find an Australian willing to wager 100,000 US dollars in exchange for his son.

Should the Solomons win, Mamae would get the money but if Australia won he would hand over his son, the state-owned Solomon Islands Broadcasting (SIBC) reported.

SIBC said National Advisory Council on Children chairman Peter Forau said he was appalled and said it was incomprehensible that a father could even think about using his child as a bet.

Forau called on the father to stop his plan and not even use it as a joke.

After Saturday's match in Honiara the two sides meet October 12 in Sydney, with the winner of the series qualifying for next year's Confederations Cup in Germany.

The Solomons civil war ended last year when an Australian led Pacific military and police force landed and restored order.

The game is already a sell out at the 21,000 capacity Lawson Tama park.

Police Operations Inspector Lazarus Taki told SIBC more than 100 Solomons and Pacific police would be providing security.

The Solomon Islands, 2575 kilometres (1600 miles) east of Australia has 494,786 people living on dozens of islands with a total land area of 27,540 square kilometres (11,016 square miles).