14 Indonesian babies trafficked to Singapore? Jakarta’s envoy has his doubts

West Java’s police say they have uncovered a baby trafficking syndicate and arrested 12 people, with Singapore targeted as a key market

Jakarta’s ambassador to Singapore has expressed scepticism about the existence of an Indonesian baby trafficking syndicate following the arrest of 12 people for smuggling infants to the city state by West Java police.

Suryopratomo claimed he had not received any reports about the alleged trafficking ring when contacted by Tempo news magazine on Tuesday. “I don’t know,” he said in a brief text message. “What is the evidence of baby sales to Singapore? I cannot comment on something unclear.”

He did not believe it was likely that such a syndicate could operate. Citing Singapore’s strict immigration checks, he said it was almost impossible to smuggle infants into the country. “It seems unlikely. Entering Singapore is difficult,” he said.

Firstly, proper papers are needed. “If the baby uses an Indonesian passport, how would they bring them to Singapore?” Suryopratomo queried. The process of getting a Singapore passport was tedious and any of the passports the police had confiscated were unlikely to be genuine, he said.

Furthermore, even if the passports were valid, airport authorities would ask after the infants’ parents. “[Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoint Authority] will surely ask the perpetrators: ‘Why is the baby not taken back home?’” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, West Java’s regional police announced that they had uncovered an international baby trafficking ring, which had been operating since 2023. “It is estimated that about 24 babies have been traded,” the police’s public relations head Hendra Rochmawan said in a written statement.

The case came to light after a parent reported an alleged baby kidnapping to local police. Investigations led them to a suspect who admitted to trading the infants, according to an Agence France-Presse report.

“Most of the babies come from the West Java region. Our initial information came from reports by parents regarding suspected child abductions,” said Surawan, director of general criminal investigation, as quoted by the Jakarta Globe online newspaper.

“Based on documents, 14 were sent to Singapore,” he said. “The age range is clearly under one year old, with some three months old, five months old and six months old.”

The victims are believed to have been mostly kidnapped from West Java, according to Surawan. “They are planned to be sent to Singapore and are already equipped with fake documents,” he said.

The police have rescued six babies. “We have already obtained one in Tangerang and five in Pontianak, who are planned to be sent to Singapore,” Surawan said.

The perpetrators’ goal is to sell the babies and not put them up for adoption as they have claimed, according to Surawan. Each infant was sold for between 11 million and 16 million rupiah (US$675 and US$983) to buyers in Singapore.

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Some of the babies had been sold to the syndicate by their parents, who would pay for birth delivery fees too. Surawan said one of the parents who made the kidnapping report “had an agreement” with the smugglers, but informed on them when the parent did not receive payment afterwards.

The suspects – all women – will be charged under child abduction and human trafficking laws and face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted.

Some were allegedly tasked with finding the babies, while others cared for them, prepared the fake documents and took them to Singapore, Surawan said.

He said that his team would be heading to Singapore in coordination with Interpol to dismantle the ring, according to the Kompas newspaper. The investigation was still ongoing, he added. “We are continuing to find more babies.”