MANILA - PHILIPPINE prosecutors ordered the release yesterday of Singaporean Irene Low Ai Lian, who has been in custody since Dec 15, pending further investigation into a complaint that she and 12 others, all Filipinos, operated a children's home without a licence.

But they want her to remain in the country during the probe, with the first of two hearings set for Jan 6.

A request was made yesterday to the Bureau of Immigration to issue a 'hold departure order' against Ms Low, 50, by the chief public prosecutor of Rizal province to prevent her from leaving.

The request to the immigration authorities said she was facing charges for violations of the Child & Youth Welfare Code.

Ms Low said she was 'ecstatic, very happy' at the prospect of being released, while waiting for the order to be brought to the jail in the town of Jalajala in Rizal province, a two-hour drive from Manila.

She declined to comment on the investigation launched by state prosecutors.

'I don't know what to expect; I'm interested only in being released,' she said.

Ms Low, who runs an adoption agency in Singapore, was arrested during a raid on a house in Jalajala, where police found nine infants aged between six months and one year. Police said the discovery was accidental; they had been working on a case involving the owner of the house.

Several local women arrested there were described by police as 'caretakers' for the babies. Some had been put up for adoption by their parents, according to a police report. The local social services department says the house called the Jalajala Home for the Needy, did not have a licence to operate as a children's home.

Ms Low and the others who were named in the complaint have been ordered to attend hearings in the investigation on Jan 6 and 13.