Singapore authorities unable to conclude if any offence committed amid Indonesia baby trafficking case
A baby trafficking syndicate in Indonesia had admitted to selling babies to Singapore agents, receiving thousands of dollars per child.
Defendants of a baby trafficking case being escorted out of their holding cells at the Bandung District Court, West Java on Apr 7, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Wisnu Agung Prasetyo)
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SINGAPORE: Authorities in Singapore have been unable to conclude whether any offences were committed in the country, after members of an Indonesian baby trafficking syndicate were jailed last month.
The ringleader of the syndicate in Indonesia admitted to trafficking at least 12 babies to Singapore, receiving between S$17,000 (US$13,250) and S$21,600 per child.
In response to CNA’s queries about investigations and arrests in Singapore, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday (Aug 7): “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 ministries said they will 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 application,” MSF and MHA added.
In January, the Singapore ministries said there had been “some delays” in the processing of citizenship applications for some children.
Authorities have been engaging the affected adoptive parents to explain the situation to them.
“We are keenly aware of the anxiety that this situation has caused to the adoptive parents, and are working closely across the relevant authorities to ensure that the cases are dealt with as expeditiously as we can, and to safeguard the welfare and interests of the children,” MSF and MHA said then.
An Indonesian court on Jul 21 meted out jail sentences of up to seven years for members of the baby trafficking syndicate.
Eighteen women and one man were found guilty by the Bandung City District Court.
The harshest sentence of seven years was handed down to 70-year-old Lie Siu Luan - also known as Lily - whom the court ruled to be the brains and ringleader behind the operation and recruited the other defendants in the case.
The elderly woman told the court she was in contact with four adoption “agents” in Singapore, starting from late 2022.
In one case, the Singapore “agent” told Lie that there was a couple from Singapore who were looking to adopt a child from Indonesia.
Lie gave the Indonesian couple 58 million rupiah for hospital bills, in exchange for the child. The Singapore “agent” paid Lie S$17,000.
She was handling another transaction to another “agent” from Singapore when she was arrested in July 2025.
Five of the defendants had falsely claimed to be the babies’ parents on forged legal documents and video calls to potential adopters.
These forged documents allowed the babies to have passports and other forms of identification and for Singapore adoption papers to be filled out and processed.
The syndicate members were arrested in mid-July last year during a series of near-simultaneous raids across Bandung, Jakarta and Pontianak, where the infants were kept in safe houses while in transit.
Prosecutor Cucu Gantina told reporters after the sentencing that the adoption agents in Singapore could not be identified, and that Indonesian police would keep investigating the case.
