No evidence of offence committed here, or by S’pore agents, in Indonesian baby trafficking case
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Alleged baby trafficking syndicate members waiting to hear prosecutors’ demands at a hearing in Bandung, West Java, on June 30.
PHOTO: ST FILE
- No offence has been committed in Singapore or by Singapore-based agents in the Indonesian baby trafficking ring case, according to Singapore authorities.
- At least 12 babies were trafficked from Indonesia to Singapore, with illegal payments involved, and 19 ring members jailed in Indonesia.
- Singapore authorities continue investigations, working with Indonesia on it.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – No offence has been committed in Singapore, or by Singapore-based adoption agents, in connection with the adoption of babies brought here by an Indonesian baby trafficking ring, the authorities told The Straits Times.
At least 12 babies were sent to Singapore for adoption by the syndicate, with each child allegedly sold for between 200 million rupiah (S$14,300) and 250 million rupiah.
Three Singapore adoption agents were also involved in the racket, the West Java authorities had previously said.
On July 21, a court in Bandung, Indonesia, sentenced 19 ring members to jail terms ranging from three years and four months to seven years for human trafficking.
In Singapore, it is illegal to pay a biological parent to give his or her child up for adoption.
However, the law allows certain adoption-related payments, including reimbursement for medical bills related to the child’s birth, legal fees and fees for adoption-related services.
Adoption agents in Singapore must also follow regulations under the Adoption of Children Act, such as not providing false information and not deceptively obtaining the birth parents’ consent to the adoption.
In their joint reply on Aug 4, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said: “Based on information available to us thus far, we are presently unable to conclude that any offence has been committed in Singapore, or by Singaporeans or Singapore-based entities.
“We will not hesitate to take firm enforcement action against those who have broken our laws.”
The reply also said that the Singapore authorities would continue to work closely with the Indonesian authorities for information on each child and their biological parents.
“This information will help to inform the assessment of what is in the best interest of the child – a key consideration for the Singapore courts to eventually decide on each pending adoption process.”
The reply did not address questions about the number of babies or Singapore families affected by the case, or what would happen to their adoption and citizenship applications.
The Indonesian baby trafficking ring was headed by Lie Siu Luan, 70, one of the 19 ring members. She was found guilty of recruiting babies for adoption, preparing forged adoption documents and arranging for the babies to be sent overseas.
She was sentenced to seven years in prison on July 21.
The biological parents of these Indonesian babies were reportedly recruited through social media, and they were given up to 20 million rupiah to give their babies up for adoption.
The baby trafficking ring worked with Singapore agents to find prospective parents for these babies, and some Singapore parents paid more than $20,000 for the child, the West Java Police have said.
In January, Senior Minister of State for Social and Family Development Goh Pei Ming told Parliament that adoption agencies have to do due diligence on the children they bring into Singapore, and those who knowingly bring children of suspicious origin would be dealt with.
At that time, the ministries said the affected adoptive parents faced some delays in the processing of citizenship applications for the children due to the ongoing investigation into the case.
He was responding to a question by Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim, who asked how many adoptions that have been approved were under review due to the trafficking case, and the investigation timeline.
Goh said the MSF could not comment on the number of cases under review or the investigation timeline, but he added that the ministry is trying to proceed “as expeditiously as possible”, given that it involves both the Singapore and Indonesian authorities.
Lim, an MP for Aljunied GRC, said she has constituents affected by the case and the uncertainty is “a torture” for these adoptive parents, who had been caring for their child for over a year.
Goh also said the granting of Singapore citizenship is not automatic after getting the adoption order, as adoption and citizenship processes are governed by different legal frameworks and policy considerations.
