A father’s desperate call to police about his kidnapped newborn unravelled a sprawling baby trafficking network that sold at least 34 infants to Singapore for thousands of pounds. On Tuesday, 19 members of the syndicate were sentenced in a West Java court, with the 70-year-old mastermind, Lie Siu Luan, jailed for seven years.
Luan, also known as Lily, admitted supplying babies to at least four people in Singapore, who promised to pay at least 18,000 Singapore dollars (£10,300) for each child. She claimed she ‘didn’t know’ her actions were wrong, and that her Singaporean partner had led her to believe sending babies abroad for adoption was allowed. Many of the defendants echoed this defence, saying they thought they were ‘helping families’. But all 19 were handed prison sentences following the trial.
“Nineteen jailed for trafficking 34 babies from Indonesia to Singapore in an illegal adoption ring exposed by a father”
Luan recruited Astri Fitrinika, 26, as the group’s main broker. Fitrinika sourced most of the children – including the newborn of Dani Hidayat, the father who triggered the investigation. Hidayat told police he met a woman on a Facebook adoption group who offered to adopt his son in exchange for money. When she failed to make one of the payments, he reported the baby kidnapped in April 2025. Police caught Fitrinika and, inspecting her phone, found she had procured many more infants. She was distraught in court, crying and hugging another defendant as her verdict was read. Fitrinika was sentenced to six years and seven months, as was Djaka Hamdani Hutabarat, 35, the only male defendant, who acted as a broker.
Lai Siu Ha, 60, who forged documents including birth certificates and Indonesian family cards to hide the babies’ roots, received the same sentence. Her lawyers said they were ‘disappointed’, arguing that what she did was ‘purely in line with’ – but the statement was cut off. Fourteen others, including six who falsely claimed to be the babies’ parents and six caregivers, were given three years and four months.
At least 20 babies were destined for Singapore, with 12 already entered. The court ordered those rescued to be placed under the West Java social service agency. But for the infants already in Singapore, their fate remains unknown. ‘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,’ prosecutor Cucu Gantina told reporters.
One couple in Singapore, David and Ally, adopted a boy named Marcus from Indonesia a few years ago, unaware of the trafficking. ‘My main concern has always been, and continues to be, what will happen to my son,’ David said. ‘Our only wish is to live a normal family life… We hope that this matter can now be brought to a resolution so that our son can move forward with certainty and security.’ At least one of the convicts is appealing their sentence, leaving the parents left in limbo.
