KATHMANDU (AFP) - A 14-year-old Nepali boy who is only 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall has been put forward for a Guinness world record as the world's smallest person, his family and supporters said.
"We found out that a Jordanian boy holds a record in the Guinness Book of World Records and he is 25.5 inches tall. But Khagendra is 5.5 inches smaller than the Jordanian guy, so we sent an application to the Guinness Book of World Records," said Min Bahadur Rana, president of Khagendra Thapa Magar Foundation, an organization set up to collect funds for the boy.
Fourteen-year-old Khagendra Thapa Magar weighs only 4.5 kilograms and will be taken on tour round Nepal to raise money for his upkeep, his father told AFP.
"We show him in exhibitions to collect fund for his education, health and future," said Rup Bahadur Thapa, his father.
According to the website set up by his supporters, www.khagendratma.org, Thapa weighed only 600 grams at birth and his hobbies include "playing with pebbles" and "worshipping Buddha."