A father from Central China's Henan Province has been arrested by local police after repeatedly trying to murder his intersex newborn.

Zhang Dahui, 29, was arrested on June 13 after police learned he had tried to kill his baby three times by covering the child's face with soaked tissues, wet diapers and abandoning the newborn in an isolated field at night for 12 hours. The child was rescued from the field by Zhang's wife, the Zhengzhou Evening News reported.

The child, born in Anyang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital on May 13, was first assigned as female. However, during a regular checkup the next day, the doctor noticed that the baby's genitals were unusual. A further chromosome examination finally confirmed the baby was genetically male and had underdeveloped male genitals.

The term "intersex" covers a range of physical variations in which an individual is born with a sexual or reproductive anatomy that doesn't fit the binary definitions of female or male bodies.

"He is neither a true man nor a true woman and is infertile. What is the use of keeping him alive? How can he survive?" Zhang told his wife, adding that he felt desperate as he has no money to treat the child.

Every time Zhang tried to kill his baby, he said that he eventually gave up after hearing the kid and his wife crying.

The baby's grandfather, 52, also helped Zhang leave the child in a field.

After this third attempt on the child's life, Zhang's wife called the police.