Prague- Czech President Vaclav Klaus Thursday pardoned a man who tried to sell a hip joint he claimed was the president's in an online auction.

The bones were offered for a minimum of 35,000 koruny (2,100 dollars) in late June, nearly a month after Klaus underwent hip replacement surgery.

The website quickly removed the offer by Premysl Donat, a 54-year- old trained lawyer, who also makes products for the blind.

The Prague hospital where Klaus underwent the operation insisted it had properly disposed of the joint, prompting police to launch an investigation into the seller for attempted fraud, an offence punishable by up to three years in prison.

But Klaus pardoned Donat, who claimed to have bought the joint from a hospital employee, before prosecution began, the president's office said.

Donat's son told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the family "were surprised" by president's move but declined to shed light on the obscure sale. dpa)