Brazil twins in paternity row share the consequences

Identical twins in central Brazil who tried to blame each other for the paternity of a girl, have both been ordered to pay child support.

The men in Goaias state, now 31, were known to have "taken advantage of their identical appearance to hide their infidelity," the court said after Monday's court ruling. But Judge Felipe Luiz Peruca wasn't buying it.

"One of you two brothers, in bad faith, has tried to hide his paternity," he said in making a Solomonic ruling.

"Justice must repress this dishonest behaviour...which undermines the right to recognition of paternity, an inalienable constitutional right," he said.

The paternity suit was brought by the girl's mother, who had a brief affair with one of the brothers but was unable to say which one.

One of the brothers took a DNA test, which was positive, but he refused to recognize the girl and pointed the finger at his identical twin, who would have had the same DNA.

The judge "has determined that both twins be included in the birth certificate and each one pay a child support equivalent to 30 per cent of the minimum wage," the court said.

The minimum wage in Brazil is 998 reais (roughly USD 262) a month.