BANDUNG, West Java: At least 34 babies were allegedly trafficked by an Indonesian syndicate, including at least 10 who were taken to Singapore and sold for as much as S$18,000 (US$14,000) per child, prosecutors at a district court in Bandung, West Java said on Tuesday (Apr 7).

The allegations came as prosecutors laid out a litany of charges against the defendants – comprising 18 women and one man – who now face a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail for their purported roles in the syndicate. 

The babies were trafficked to Singapore between 2023 and 2025, prosecutors said. 

The case began “some time in 2023” when one of the defendants, Lie Siu Luan, also known as Lily, was in contact with a Singaporean named Petter, who requested that Lily find him babies for adoption.

The Singaporean, whose full identity was not mentioned in the charges, told Lily “to find fake parents for the babies” and get them to sign “Form ACA-2” in front of an Indonesian notary. The form refers to a document for a birth parent or relevant party to give consent for the adoption of a child under Singapore’s Adoption of Children Act (ACA) of 2022.