Trafficking between Indonesia and Singapore with newborns sold abroad
A case that began after authorities rescued six newborns bound for the city-state has put the spotlight on a widespread practice. Criminal groups exploit the economic difficulties of many women to circumvent adoption regulations, increasingly using social media for recruitment.
Singapore (AsiaNews) – A recent news story reported how six newborns, destined for alleged buyers in Singapore, were identified and rescued by Indonesian police as part of an operation against a child trafficking ring operating in Asia.
This is not a new practice, but the episode confirms the need for action not only to prosecute those responsible for trafficking, but also to address its root causes.
Across the vast Indonesian archipelago, criminal organisations nurture the illegal adoption market by targeting primarily women in precarious economic circumstances, unable to afford the costs of pregnancy, childbirth, and raising a child.
The situation is exacerbated by the strong social stigma surrounding abortion, which is illegal I Indonesia with few exceptions, and by a lack of knowledge of the procedures required for legal adoption.
Indonesian regulations are particularly restrictive. Prospective adoptive parents must be married, between the ages of 30 and 55, demonstrate financial stability, and obtain approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs.
International adoptions are essentially banned, except for foreigners who have been resident in Indonesia for at least two years and meet specific requirements.
According to some observers, the combination of economic hardships, gaps in civil registration systems, and strict adoption regulations created ideal conditions for the proliferation of an illegal market in newborns.
Incomplete birth registration, in particular, facilitates the manipulation of identities by traffickers. Women with unwanted and unsupported pregnancies are the primary target of recruiters working for these criminal networks.
In recent years, social media has also become increasingly important, allowing traffickers to directly contact both potential biological mothers and aspiring adoptive parents, in various provinces across the country and even abroad.
According to investigators, in the latest case foiled by police, members of the criminal organisation searched social media for families willing to sell their newborns in exchange for sums ranging from nine to 15 million Indonesian rupiah (between US$ 500 and US$ 850).
One of the confirmed destinations of the children is Singapore. Some of the most significant information on the practice is emerging from the city-state, thanks to the ongoing trial against a network run by a 70-year-old Indonesian woman known as "Lily”.
According to the prosecution, Lily allegedly sold at least 34 newborns between 2022 and 2025, mostly from West Java, with a dozen reportedly bound for Singapore at progressively higher prices, from US$ 1,200 to US$ 1,700.
During the trial, witnesses revealed that, once removed from their biological mothers, the newborns were entrusted to women responsible for caring for them over several months, then moved to urban centres, where they were placed with Indonesian families or prepared for expatriation after obtaining the necessary documents.
The investigation also shows that many biological parents believed their children would be directly adopted by those who later became the defendants in the case and that they would be able to maintain contact with them in the following years, unaware that the children would be handed over to other families, in some cases, abroad, without any possibility of tracing them.
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17/09/2024 15:56
