An Indonesian court has convicted 19 members of a baby trafficking syndicate that sold at least 34 infants, some of whom were taken across the border to Singapore and sold for thousands of dollars each under the guise of adoption.
The Bandung City District Court on Tuesday (21st July) handed down jail sentences ranging from three years and four months to seven years to the defendants, who were found guilty of operating between 2022 and 2025. 18 women and one man stood trial.
The court identified 70-year-old Lie Siu Luan, also known as Lily, as the ringleader who recruited others and orchestrated the scheme. She received the maximum sentence of seven years.
Astri Fitrinika, 26, and Djaka Hamdani, 35, the only male defendant, were each sentenced to six years and seven months for their roles in recruiting babies. Lai Siu Ha, 60, and Elin Marlina received the same term for forging documents and aiding recruitment, respectively. The remaining 14 defendants each received three years and four months for minor roles, including five who posed as the babies’ parents on forged documents and video calls.
The sentences were lower than the 10 years prosecutors had sought for the five main defendants and the five years sought for the others. All defendants and prosecutors may appeal. Lai immediately announced she would challenge the verdict, while Lie and Astri accepted their sentences.
Lie’s lawyer, Sendy Sanjaya, said: “I cannot comment much on why our client decided to accept the verdict, but the sentencing is certainly much lower than what the prosecution had asked. Perhaps the judges took note that our client has been truthful throughout the (court) proceedings.”
According to court documents, Lily confessed to trafficking at least 12 babies to Singapore, receiving between S$17,000 (US$13,174) and S$21,600 per child. She was first contacted in late 2022 by a person named “John,” who said a Singaporean couple wanted to adopt.
Lie sourced babies from vulnerable parents, particularly in the Bandung area of West Java, often paying them between 9 million rupiah and 15 million rupiah. In one case, she gave an Indonesian couple in Pontianak 58 million rupiah for hospital bills in exchange for their child and pocketed a profit after expenses.
The syndicate forged birth certificates, listing defendants as fake parents or guardians to obtain passports and complete Singaporean adoption paperwork. They used social media and online adoption groups to find birth parents, and infants were held in safe houses in Bandung, Jakarta, and Pontianak before transit. Arrests occurred in mid-July 2025 during coordinated raids.
The court ordered eight rescued babies to be placed under the care of the West Java social service agency. Prosecutor Cucu Gantina said authorities could not trace babies already in Singapore or identify the agents there. “As for the babies in Singapore, we couldn’t identify who the adoption agents (in Singapore) were, so we had no way of knowing what happened to (the babies). Police will keep investigating the case,” she told reporters.
The case drew attention in Indonesia, Singapore, and internationally. Singapore’s Minister for Social and Family Development, Masagos Zulkifli, noted in February that agencies were cooperating with Indonesian authorities, and said processes would be reviewed once facts were clearer.
Experts link such cases to poverty, high childbirth costs, social stigma around abortion, and limited understanding of legal adoption in Indonesia. Social media has facilitated connections between syndicates, birth mothers, and adopters across borders.
The verdict highlights ongoing challenges in combating cross-border child trafficking in Southeast Asia, where demand for adoption meets economic desperation. Indonesian and Singaporean authorities continue to investigate remaining aspects of the network.
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