Police foil infant smuggling attempt

Police foil infant smuggling attempt

PEKANBARU, Riau: Police in Tanjungpinang regency, Riau
province, said on Friday they had foiled an attempt to smuggle an
infant to Singapore.

The move followed the earlier arrest in Batam in the same
province of four suspects charged with infant trafficking.

Tanjungpinang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widodo Prihastopo
said his officers had arrested a married couple, Desi, 29, and
Soe I Jiang, 44, as suspects at midnight on Wednesday as they
were negotiating with the mother of a baby girl.

The one-month-old infant, Elen, was to have been bought from
her mother, reportedly a commercial sex worker identified only as
Ida, and had been ordered by a Singapore citizen, Widodo added.

He said the police were searching for Ida.

"At first, the husband and wife claimed they wanted to adopt
Elen. But we were suspicious as they made records of all the
costs involved in looking after the infant, which is unusual,"
Widodo said.

He said that further investigations revealed that Elen's
mother had wished to sell her infant since she was four months
pregnant.

According to Widodo, Ida had been staying with the couple, who
promised to pay all the costs of looking after the baby until she
was taken to Singapore.

Based on the prevailing child protection legislation, anyone
found guilty of infant trafficking is subject to a maximum term
of imprisonment of 15 years and a fine of Rp 300 million. --JP