All members of Indonesian trafficking ring which smuggled babies into Singapore jailed

All 19 members of an Indonesian trafficking ring that smuggled babies into Singapore have been sentenced to jail on Tuesday (July 21).

Of the members, 18 women and one man were found guilty of trafficking at least 34 infants from 2022 to 2025, the Bandung City District Court heard.

Some of these babies were adopted by parents in Singapore, where at least 12 of them were sold for around 200 to 250 million rupiah (S$14,350 to S$18,000) each.

Among those sentenced, ringleader Lie Siu Luan received seven years' jail after being found guilty of human trafficking.

The 70-year-old, also known by the aliases Popo and Lily, had coordinated the acquisition of babies, prepared forged adoption documents and made arrangements for sending them overseas, The Straits Times reported.

She purportedly earned US$17,000 (S$22,000) from one instance of trafficking to Singapore in 2022.

Her sentencing was lower than the prosecutor's demand of 10 years, Free Malaysia Today reported.

Astri Fitrinika and Djaka Hamdani, aged 26 and 35, were each sentenced to six years and seven months' jail respectively for having recruited the trafficked infants, while Lai Siu Ha, 60, had forged documents.

Elin Marlina, who purportedly helped Astri and Djaka, was also given six years and seven months' jail, CNA reported.

The remaining 14, inclusive of five who impersonated the babies' parents, received jail terms of between three years and four months.

Bandung City District Court further ordered for the eight babies rescued last year following the arrest of syndicate members to be cared for by the West Java social service agency.

Prosecutor Cucu Gantina told media after the trial that the fates of babies trafficked to Singapore are unclear.

"We couldn't identify who the adoption agents were, so we had no way of knowing what happened to (the babies). Police will keep investigating the case," she said.

Lai is expected to appeal the court's decision.

[[nid:727951]]

khooyihang@asiaone.com