A 67-year-old man in Norway has bought the future right to marry a teenaged girl

Jonathan Tisdall:

The down payment was made in April 2004 and the rest will come when the marriage takes place.

The senior citizen has promised a total of NOK 800,000 (USD 118,700) to marry the girl, now aged 17, and has already paid NOK 70,000 for this right, newspaper VG reports.

The girl is born and raised in Norway and lives in the eastern part of the country. She has a Norwegian father and an Asian mother.

The 67-year-old told VG that he had not bought a wife.

"I know that some people think this is human trafficking but this is a custom in that country. Everyone who is to marry a woman there must enter into such a contract. I have explained to her that this isn't normal here in Norway but this is the way she wants it," the man told VG about the deal he signed with the girl and her mother.

The girl's mother, who is now in her homeland with her daughter, admitted to VG that she knew the man but would not comment further.

Family members on both sides are shocked. The man's daughter wants the police to intervene. She believes what her 'obsessed' father is doing is illegal and also fears that the mother and daughter have milked him for over NOK 1 million.

The father of the teenaged bride-to-be was stunned to learn about the contract.

"I have asked him to stay away from her before. I will do what is necessary to protect my daughter and now I want all the facts," he said.

Police in Romerike, where the 67-year-old lives, said that they were aware of the situation but were having trouble determining if a law had been broken. Police inspector and lawyer Jan Eirik Thomassen said that his office had been asked to investigate.

"We were asked to assess whether the contract involves a breach of the Immigration Act. Our interpretation is that it does not since both are Norwegian citizens," Thomassen said.

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