Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
An Indonesian court has sentenced a 70-year-old woman to seven years in prison for leading a 19-member baby trafficking syndicate that illegally bought and sold at least 34 infants under the guise of adoption between 2022 and 2025. Lie Siu Luan, also known as Lily or Popo, was found guilty of committing crimes "for the purpose of exploitation" by the Bandung District Court in West Java on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. The sentence fell short of the 10-year term prosecutors had sought for the mastermind who recruited a network of brokers, caregivers, and document forgers to traffic babies from Indonesia to Singapore and elsewhere within the archipelago.
Presiding Judge Gatot Ardian Agustriono declared Lie legally proven guilty of recruiting, harbouring, sending, and transferring persons for exploitation within the territory of Indonesia. The harshest punishment was reserved for Lie, whom the court identified as the brains behind the entire operation and the recruiter of the other defendants. During the trial, Lie admitted to sending at least 12 babies to Singapore, with each infant sold for between 200 and 250 million rupiah, equivalent to approximately $18,800 per child. According to the indictment, she personally pocketed around S$17,000 for a single baby trafficked to Singapore in 2022.
The syndicate came to light last year when a parent reported a baby kidnapping to police in West Java, leading to an investigation that uncovered the sprawling trafficking network operating across multiple provinces and international borders. Police rescued several infants held by the syndicate before they could be sold, while other children rejected by would-be clients in Singapore were sold domestically, including to adoptive parents in Jakarta.
The 19 defendants, 18 of them women, were convicted of trafficking at least 34 babies under the guise of adoption. While Lie received the longest sentence of seven years, other key players in the syndicate received substantial jail terms. The chief recruiter, Astri Fitrinika, 26, along with fellow recruiters Djaka Hamdani, 35, and Elin Marlina, were each sentenced to six years and seven months. Lai Siu Ha, 60, who helped the syndicate forge documents to obscure the babies' origins, also received six years and seven months. The remaining 14 defendants, who acted as caregivers for the babies or played minor roles, were given three years and four months each. At least one defendant has indicated she will appeal the decision.
The case has highlighted the persistent problem of child trafficking in Indonesia, a sprawling nation of more than 17,000 islands. Prosecutors argued that the syndicate operated with chilling efficiency, recruiting parents willing to sell their children, manufacturing false documentation, and using individuals who posed as the biological mothers during video calls to deceive potential adopters. Despite the gravity of the crimes, the sentences imposed by the Bandung court were lower than the 10-year terms prosecutors had demanded for the ringleaders.
While the verdict brought a measure of justice, the fate of the trafficked babies remains uncertain, particularly the 12 infants believed to have already been adopted in Singapore. For one couple in Singapore, whose adopted son is believed to be one of the trafficked babies, the biggest worry now is what will happen to their child. The case has drawn international attention to the vulnerabilities that allow trafficking networks to flourish and the urgent need for stronger cross-border cooperation to protect children from exploitation.
Human trafficking remains a significant challenge in Indonesia. In one of the worst cases in recent years, at least 57 people were found caged on a palm oil plantation in North Sumatra province in 2022. The baby trafficking syndicate's conviction, while welcomed, serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing battle against organised crime networks that prey on the most vulnerable members of society.
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