Trafficking fears and red flags: Singapore couples caught up in botched overseas adoption attempts

SINGAPORE: Singapore adoptive parents Sarah and Adam were in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, waiting nervously at a fast-food restaurant to meet a baby they were looking to adopt when a woman walked in with the newborn in her arms.

After a brief conversation, the woman told the couple to “take now … bring this baby back now”.

The couple was shocked – their adoption agent did not turn up, there was no paperwork and almost no information about the child.

They left without taking the baby.

That was in July last year. They then learnt that the circumstances of their case bore similarities to a baby-trafficking case spanning Indonesia and Singapore.

Eighteen women and one man are currently on trial in Indonesia for their alleged roles in a baby-trafficking syndicate that has links to adoption “agents” in Singapore.

CNA reported earlier this month that the court in Indonesia was told that at least four people in Singapore were allegedly involved in the trafficking of about a dozen babies, under the guise of adoption.

According to court records seen by CNA, Lie Siu Luan, also known as Lily, 70, confessed in a May 26 trial session to trafficking babies to Singapore and receiving anywhere between S$17,000 (US$13,200) and S$21,600 per child.

Those on trial are accused of selling at least 34 babies between 2022 and 2025. Prosecutors allege that Lie was the mastermind and ringleader of the group.

The court was told that the four people in Singapore who were in contact with Lily were known as “John”, “Petter”, “Mr Tan” and “Mr Chew”.

Lily described them as “adoption agents from Singapore” who had existing clients.

CNA has contacted the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for more information on whether any person in Singapore has been arrested or charged in connection with the case.

In January, MHA and MSF said in a joint statement that they were aware of the allegations. The ministries said then that the Singapore government was working closely with its Indonesian counterparts to review these allegations.

HIGH DEMAND

Despite the risks, two Singapore couples told CNA why they chose to adopt from overseas and through private commercial agencies.

They were quoted tens of thousands of dollars to adopt a child. In some instances, the adoption process fell through at the very end.

In 2024, 435 children were adopted and registered or re-registered under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, according to the latest data from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

Re-registration refers to the updating of a child’s birth records after an adoption is formalised.

In Singapore, four agencies are authorised by MSF to conduct mandatory briefings and adoption suitability assessments: Apkim Centre for Social Services, Fei Yue Community Services, Lutheran Community Care Services and TOUCH Community Services.

Prospective adopters may identify a child through their own contacts, but MSF says they must ensure the child was sourced, matched and placed under their care in compliance with Singapore law and the laws of the child’s country of origin.

"Any contraventions may affect the adoption applications," added MSF.

Fei Yue Adoption Services told CNA that it has observed over the last decade or more that there has been a global shortage of children available for adoption due to declining birth rates.

A spokesperson added: “This has led to frustration among many couples seeking to adopt after attaining a favourable adoption assessment, to be unable to find a child locally or even abroad to adopt.”

A spokesperson for SteppingStones, a social enterprise set up by Lutheran Community Care Services, said: "While some prospective adoptive parents do express a preference for a child with a certain profile, such as gender, age, and medical conditions, there has been a trend towards adopting a child with particular characteristics.

"This reflects a growing positive mindset that prioritises the experience of parenthood."

While baby-trafficking cases are not the norm, two Singapore couples told CNA they encountered warning signs that highlighted the risks of overseas adoption.

They had met the babies they were due to adopt, but found themselves in situations that raised serious red flags. One parent told CNA she feared she could be implicated in a kidnapping if she took the baby back.

The prospective adoptive parents who spoke to CNA did so on condition of anonymity to protect their families’ identities.

Adopting a child in Singapore

Prospective parents must attend a mandatory pre-adoption briefing and a briefing on disclosure of adoptive status. You may register for pre-adoption briefing with any of the four MSF-appointed agencies.

They would then need to obtain an Adoption Suitability Assessment (ASA) that looks into the circumstances surrounding the adoption, as well as their suitability to adopt. The assessment is conducted by a social service staff member from an authorised adoption agency.

They must obtain a favourable ASA before they can identify a child to adopt.

Prospective parents may identify a child they want to adopt through their contacts. However, they must ensure that how the child was sourced, matched and placed under their care does not contravene the laws of Singapore and the child’s country of origin.

MSF does not provide child matching services, but it can help with the matching of children under state care.

When the prospective parents have identified a child to adopt, they need to get notarised consent of the birth parents or the relevant person. They should also have all identification documents of the child and an itemised breakdown of the costs involved in the transfer of the child.

For a foreign child, a dependant's pass must be applied for at this stage. This is an immigration pass issued to a foreign child so that he or she is allowed to remain in Singapore until the adoption proceedings have been completed.

Prospective adopters must submit an application to the Family Justice Courts. This should be filed within three weeks of the issuance of the dependant's pass. Applicants who fail to do so may have the pass terminated.

Once the application is accepted, an MSF officer will contact the adoptive parents in four to eight weeks from the date the court order is filed. The officer will advise the parents on the next steps pertaining to the Guardian-in-Adoption’s (GIA) social investigation process.

Follow-up interviews, home visits and calls will be made based on the contact information detailed in the application.

Upon completion of the social investigation, the GIA's affidavit will be submitted to the lawyer or the prospective parents. This must be submitted to the Family Court within two weeks, and a hearing date can be applied for.

Prospective parents or their lawyer will have to attend the court hearing. The court may choose to make a decision or adjourn the case, pending further information on the adoption application, at the hearing.

If the court grants the adoption rrder, the Registry of Births and Deaths and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will be informed by the court, to enable the issuance of a new birth certificate for the child.

Once the court has made its decision on the adoption application, the dependant’s pass cannot be extended. Parents will need to approach ICA for a valid immigration pass before the current dependant's pass expires.

If the court dismisses the adoption application, adoptive parents will have to return the child to his or her birth family at their own cost.

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SEARCHING FOR A BABY

In 2024, Sarah and Adam decided they wanted a second child. As Sarah was in her late 40s, they felt adoption was the best option and hoped to adopt a Chinese baby girl under a year old.

The couple contacted multiple adoption agencies but they said they were repeatedly told that there was no suitable match.

“In the first place, there weren’t many choices. So we just contacted whoever we could find. We knew that the waiting period would be long,” said Sarah.

In March 2025, they heard from the owner of an adoption agency who said she was able to match the couple with a baby who was due to be born in May that year in Malaysia.

The rest of the agencies didn’t come back to us because there wasn’t really a match. It was only (the agent) that kept saying she had one,” Sarah said.

Although they came across negative reviews about the adoption agency, this was the closest they had come to adopting a child at that point.

“We know that they are the ones holding the power. They have the upper hand. We just have to be extra patient with them,” Adam said.

“If we show we’re not patient or we come down too hard on them, we were afraid that they would choose other parents.”

Concerns soon emerged. The couple said questions about the birth mother and baby often went unanswered, and details such as the mother’s age and her due date kept changing.

“All these are not small details,” said Sarah.

After the baby was born, they were left waiting for details about meeting the child. In early June 2025, the agent told them the adoption could not proceed because the birth mother had previously placed another child for adoption in Singapore.

This explanation raised alarm bells, but the couple felt they had little room to question.

MSF told CNA there are no provisions in the Adoption of Children Act (ACA) 2022 that prohibit a foreign birth mother who has previously placed a child for adoption in Singapore from doing so again.

“Each adoption application is assessed on its own merits,” the ministry said.

“Notwithstanding this, the Ministry of Social and Family Development takes the adoption process seriously. Where there are indications of possible commodification of children, MSF will not support the adoption.

“The child’s well-being remains paramount, and all prospective adopters are assessed on their suitability and ability to provide safe and appropriate care.”

A check by CNA showed the adoption agency’s registration was struck off in May 2025.

“TAKE NOW”

However, in July that year, the agent contacted the couple again about another baby due to be born in July. Despite their reservations, Sarah and Adam agreed to try again.

The couple was told they would have to pay S$35,000 to adopt the baby. “It’s not like we had options. This was the only one,” Adam said.

The couple was shown photos of the child and they were interested in adopting her. They arranged to meet the baby on Jul 25 that year at a lawyer’s office in Johor Bahru.

They said there were no plans to finalise the adoption at the meeting; it was only meant for them to meet the baby.

Besides the couple and the baby, the adoption agent was expected to attend. But on the day, the agent told the couple she had an emergency and asked them to go ahead without her.

“It felt very off. We were trying to make sense of what was going on. I was upset with her, it was very frustrating,” Adam said.

But when they arrived at the lawyer’s office, they discovered no appointment had been scheduled. The agent then instructed them to wait at a nearby fast-food restaurant instead.

“I was fuming already,” Sarah said. About 40 minutes later, a woman arrived with the newborn baby.

“Our hearts melted. Our daughter called her ‘mei mei’ (Mandarin for younger sister). It was a very tender moment for us. The ‘off’ feeling we felt was being put aside,” Sarah said.

That uneasy feeling quickly returned when the woman, whom they thought was the baby’s nanny, told them to “take now” and “bring this baby back now”.

Sarah refused and explained that she could not do so as there was no proper documentation and this might be considered kidnapping.

The couple quickly left. Hours later, they received a call from the woman, who said she was not a nanny but a Malaysia agent.

She said she could not contact the couple’s agent and she tried to persuade the couple to work directly with her to adopt the baby.

“It felt like we were unknowingly being pulled into human trafficking,” Adam said. “I asked myself if I was an accomplice. That’s what it felt like, given how everything was being done.”

“I told Adam that we cannot take this baby,” Sarah said.

MEETING BABIES OVERSEAS

Another couple also told CNA about their experience of trying to adopt from overseas using private agencies.

Nick and Gwen, who had no preference for adopting a local or foreign baby, said the paperwork took time to complete.

“There were so many documents that it took us a while to really get everything together,” Gwen said.

They waited almost a year before hearing of a potential match, despite reaching out to multiple adoption agencies. In March 2024, they were told by an adoption agency that there was a baby from Vietnam up for adoption.

When the baby was about three months old, the couple flew to Vietnam, where they met the infant, the birth mother and the Vietnamese agent facilitating the adoption.

“By that time, it was a long time coming. So it felt like everything was finally going in a better direction,” said Gwen.

This was their first successful match after reaching out to multiple adoption agencies. “We were super excited. It just felt almost serendipitous and fitting.”

But things took a turn for the worse. One of the final steps was for the couple to apply for the baby’s dependant’s pass and for the birth mother to collect the baby’s passport and fly to Singapore with the baby.

However, the birth mother never showed up and she was never heard from again.

“It was obviously pretty tragic because we had already thought of her name, we had already set up the place for her to come join our family,” said Nick.

“It would probably have been a couple more weeks before she was due to come to Singapore, but that fell apart.”

Feeling they had no choice but to accept that they would never see the baby again, the couple said they had “no closure”.

“Once you meet another child and you’re serious - as serious as we were about bringing this kid into our family - you feel a sense of responsibility. And to have it all fall apart like that, it does hurt,” said Nick.

They wanted to try adopting again. After getting connected with another private agency, they were told there was a baby from Pontianak, Indonesia, who could be matched with them.

The couple was told they would have to pay S$38,000 to adopt the baby.

When the baby was about four months old, the couple travelled to Jakarta to meet her. The nanny was present, but not the birth parents.

“It was a beautiful moment … There was this kid that we connected with and felt good about,” Nick said.

The couple was relieved when they managed to get through all the paperwork, and the dependant’s pass was approved.

“So we got through all of it, and literally a week before the baby was supposed to come to Singapore and be with us, we got a call from the agent, and he said, ‘Sorry, the adoption is not going to happen’,” Nick said.

According to the couple, the Indonesian agent told them that Indonesia was not allowing adoptions to proceed.

No other information was given to the couple, and they felt like they “jumped through all the hoops” again, only to be left disappointed.

Looking back, Gwen said it felt like she was at the “mercy” of the Singapore adoption agent, who she felt was not forthcoming with information.

“They give you bits and bobs where they feel like it. When you ask further questions, they'll say things like ‘it's just like that’, ‘that's just how it goes’,” Gwen added.

“It’s very limited information, and you are not allowed any contact with the other side, which makes it difficult.

“I don't know how common it is to have a situation like that fall through two times. We were already nervous enough after the first time it fell through. And doing it the second time, it was very hard to be calm and trust the process.”

REVIEW BEFORE ADOPTION: MSF

An MSF spokesperson said that before prospective adoptive parents file an application with the Family Justice Courts to adopt a foreign child, the ministry reviews submitted documents for any apparent irregularities relating to the child's identity or the birth parents' consent.

The review is based on the documents provided as part of the application process, including the child's birth certificate, the birth parents' identification documents, the birth parents' written consent to the adoption, and affidavits from the birth parents and/or relevant persons, such as grandparents if the birth parents are underaged.

"MSF may seek information on when and how the birth parents came into contact with the adoption agency or prospective adoptive parents, as well as the reasons for placing the child for adoption," the spokesperson added.

"MSF may also take into account information on payments made by applicants to defray the medical costs of the birth mother and child, legal fees, and administrative fees paid to the agency, and cross-check these with the birth parents’ confirmation of payments.

"Where appropriate, MSF may speak with the family members to verify details of the pregnancy and delivery."

After the adoption application is filed with the Family Justice Court, MSF – in its role as the Guardian-in-Adoption – will conduct a social investigation into the application for all adopters.

This includes interviewing the child, the prospective adopters, and other relevant persons such as household members and character referees.

According to the Adoption of Children Act 2022, undesirable practices that compromise a child's welfare are criminalised.

These include the use of fraud, undue influence or other improper means to obtain the birth parents' consent to give up their child for adoption, as well as making, giving, receiving or agreeing to make, give or receive any payment and rewards for non-permitted purposes.

Advertising children for adoption and providing false information to the AAA or GIA are also criminalised.

The penalties for first-time offenders range from a fine of up to S$5,000 or S$10,000 and/or imprisonment for a term of up to 12 months or three years. The penalties are higher for repeat offenders.

"Any action taken with respect to the children and their custody will take into consideration their welfare and what legal powers would need to be invoked to do so," MSF said.

LOOK FOR WARNING SIGNS: LAWYERS

While the Adoption of Children Act 2022 has strengthened safeguards in Singapore's adoption process, lawyers said problems can still arise if adoption agencies take shortcuts to circumvent the system.

Before the current law took effect in October 2024, adoptions in Singapore were governed by the Adoption of Children Act 1939.

Lawyers said prospective adoptive parents may sometimes be drawn to informal or unlawful arrangements if they perceive the formal adoption process to be lengthy, complex or difficult to navigate.

Mr Shaun Ho, a specialist family lawyer at Withers KhattarWong, said MSF-authorised agencies have “very rigorous testing”, such as testing the parents’ ability to care for the child and the fit between the child and the prospective adoptive parent.

But there is a “possibility” that other agencies may not be as rigorous, he added.

“They may not put you through as much rigour when testing for your suitability or the match, so it is more likely that they will hand the child to you with less hassle,” he said.

Given the risks, prospective adoptive parents should conduct their due diligence before engaging any adoption agency, said GJC Law director Sandra Ong, who specialises in family law.

“Some general warning signs that may indicate unethical practices include agencies that are unregulated or operate without clear oversight, those that provide incomplete or misleading information about a child’s background, and situations where biological parents appear pressured or inadequately informed before giving consent,” Ms Ong said.

She added that another concern would be attempts to circumvent mandatory processes, such as the Adoption Suitability Assessment (ASA) or the pre-adoption briefings.

“Any suggestion that adoption is being marketed or expedited through shortcuts should also raise serious concern,” she said.

Mr Ho said that agencies that are unwilling to provide documents or claim that official records can be altered should not be trusted.

Adoptive parents should not rely solely on information from agents, and he warned that in countries where there is corruption, false birth certificates can be made.

“When these birth certificates come into Singapore, they’re very difficult to verify and you can't tell that they're forged,” he said.

“Don't take everything purely from the agent. Do more research. Talk to the authorities, doctors, and lawyers - they will know.”

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"BEAUTIFUL PROCESS"

While the two couples’ processes were fraught with setbacks and uncertainty, one adoptive parent said her journey was smoother and ultimately successful.

When Nicole and her husband first started the adoption process in 2023, she said she was told that adopting a baby of their preferred race in Singapore would be difficult.

As she wanted a child of a specific race, she thought that going overseas would give her a better chance.

“We were okay with the child being of either gender, and we were open to adopting a child four years old or younger. So we wanted to cast our net far and wide.”

She used SteppingStones as her agent. After about a year, they successfully adopted a six-month-old boy from Vietnam.

“Stepping Stones were very communicative. They were able to get us through step by step,” she said. “Even if there are queries or things that we need to ask, we were able to approach them easily.”

While she did not encounter major issues with the process itself, the long waiting periods were difficult, and she sometimes felt uncertain about what came next.

“The difficult part is the uncertainty of the next stage. Because it's our first time, we did not know what to expect,” she said.

Despite these issues, she said adoption should be seen as no different from other ways of starting a family.

“I think that adoption is a very beautiful process, so it's (about) trying to normalise it.”

The spokesperson from SteppingStones said: "The stigma surrounding adoption we see has significantly decreased in recent years.

"Prospective adoptive parents are increasingly open and sincere in their desire to welcome a child into their family and embrace parenthood.

"They are also better informed about the importance of disclosure – specifically, the need to share the child’s adoption story with them as early as possible as they recognise it as a healthy approach to supporting the child’s sense of identity."

Nicole is among those who have embraced this open approach.

She is already thinking ahead to the questions her son might ask one day about his birth parents, and is comfortable with the idea of him finding them when he is older.

“In the future, if he ever wants to go back and find his birth parents, we are okay," Nicole said.

Source: CNA/cj(mi)