BANDUNG: Indonesian prosecutors on Tuesday (April 7) charged 19 people – 18 of them women – accused of sending infants to cities across Indonesia and overseas, including to Singapore, in what authorities described as one of the country’s largest trafficking cases in recent years.
Earlier, the defendants filed into the Indonesian Bandung District Court in a single line, dressed in white shirts and orange detainee vests. Several of them lowered their heads or shielded their faces from cameras outside.
At the centre of the case is Lie Siu Luan, 70, known as Lily, whom police investigators described as the ringleader. She was arrested in July 2025 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport upon returning from Singapore, according to reports.
An indictment seen by The Straits Times shows that prosecutors have brought three charges against Lie.
In Indonesia’s legal system, prosecutors may file more than one charge so that judges can consider other offences if the main charge is not proven.
The primary charge is human trafficking, read together with offences relating to acting with others and committing the crime repeatedly.
According to the indictment, this covers the alleged recruitment, transport, harbouring or transfer of individuals through means such as fraud, coercion, threats, or abuse of vulnerability for the purpose of exploitation.
If convicted under this charge, Lie could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 5 billion rupiah.
Two other charges have also been filed and may be considered if the main charge is not upheld, including sending Indonesian citizens abroad for exploitation. This charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 600 million rupiah.
In the coming hearings, presiding judge Gatot Ardian Agustiono and a panel of three judges will hear testimony from witnesses and arguments from both prosecutors and defence lawyers.
The defendants are represented by different lawyers.
Aditia Restianda, a lawyer representing four of the 19 defendants, told ST before the hearing began: “We will do our best to ensure our clients receive proper legal protection as defendants.”
He declined to discuss the details of the case before proceedings started.
“All Indonesian citizens have equal rights before the law, including the right to receive legal assistance,” he added.
The Straits Times previously reported, citing Indonesian police, that the syndicate targeted desperate parents. At least 25 infants, aged between five and 14 months, were allegedly trafficked, with 15 destined for Singapore.
Local adoptive parents paid about 20 million rupiah for a child. Those abroad, including in Singapore, paid far more – more than S$20,000 per infant – in breach of Indonesian law, which requires adoption to be free.
Investigators said the syndicate’s operations often began before birth, with recruiters allegedly approaching pregnant women facing financial hardship and offering to cover medical expenses in exchange for their babies. In some cases, infants were effectively “reserved” while still in the womb.
The operation relied on falsified administrative records. Babies were allegedly added to households’ Kartu Keluarga, or family cards, using fake birth certificates. These documents were then used to obtain passports from the Pontianak immigration office in West Kalimantan.
The cards, issued by Indonesia’s Civil Registry Office, record key information about all members of a household and are required for passports, school enrolment, marriage registration and healthcare.
Infants from Bandung, Sukabumi and Cianjur in West Java were transported to Jakarta, then to Pontianak for documentation, before being returned to Jakarta and flown overseas, including to Singapore, police said.
Earlier speculation suggested the babies were moved through land crossings via Johor Bahru, though police later said they were flown directly from Jakarta to Changi Airport.
Senior Commissioner Ade Sapari, director of special crimes at the West Java police, told The Straits Times on Jan 14 that the ring selected babies based on appearance, with those considered “good-looking” sent overseas, including to Singapore, while others were sold within Indonesia.
Three Singaporean adoption agents – identified by their initials TN, PT and EG – were allegedly involved, West Java police spokesman Hendra Rochmawan told ST on Jan 22.
The case first surfaced in July 2025, when Indonesian authorities detained about a dozen suspects in West Java. On Jan 9, Indonesia and Singapore said they were working together to review the allegations, with Singapore authorities contacting affected adoptive parents.
Indonesia’s adoption laws are strict. Prospective parents must be married, aged between 30 and 55, financially stable, and approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Overseas adoption is largely prohibited, though foreigners who have lived in Indonesia for at least two years may adopt a child subject to stringent requirements.
Analysts said economic pressures on mothers, gaps in civil registration systems and strict adoption rules have created conditions for illicit markets to thrive. Incomplete birth registration has been cited as a factor that can make it easier for traffickers to manipulate identities. - The Straits Times/ANN
