One Chinese dad can forget about getting a Father's Day card after chaining his 8-year-old son to a pole and trying to auction him to strangers on the street in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Yong Tsui tried to peddle Yong Fai, touting the boy's strong work ethic.

Police did nothing until passersby grew irate and assaulted the dad after people expressing interest in Fai asked how much they would need to spend on the boy.

"He has no job, no home and no money," one sympathetic officer said of the dad, the Daily Mail reports. "He says he wasn't interested in the money, just finding a home for the boy."

The scared boy told police his father said he could no longer afford to raise him.

Yong Tsui said he chained his son after learning about a similar situation in China where a chained-up 2-year-old boy got free day care after generous strangers learned of his plight.

For now, the boy remains in the custody of the police.