A father tried to fool police into believing his two biological daughters were runaways he found in a doorway because he wanted a boy and could not afford to keep the girls.

The man surnamed Guo from Chongqing municipality called the police on Monday and claimed to have found the two children.

However, police soon discovered it was a lie.

Guo's mother admitted the children were the man's biological children, but he really wanted a son. She also claimed Guo had got into debt building a new house, felt stressed and planned to give up custody of his own daughters.

After discovering the truth, the police reported Guo's situation to the local government who immediately sent rice, cooking oil and some daily necessities to Guo's family and promised to apply for subsidies for them.

Guo also got a job at a nearby factory with the help of the local police.