Indonesia Court Sentences 19 in Baby‑Trafficking Ring, Leader Gets 7 Years

On 21 July 2026 a district court in Bandung, West Java, convicted all 19 members of a baby‑trafficking syndicate. Prison terms range from three years and four months to seven years. The ringleader, 70‑year‑old Lie Siu Luan, received the longest sentence of seven years; co‑defendant Astri Fitrinika was sentenced to six years and seven months, while the remaining defendants received three to six‑and‑a‑half years.

The ring trafficked at least 34 infants between 2023 and 2025, selling a dozen of them to families in Singapore using falsified adoption documents. Eight rescued babies have been placed in a state orphanage, but the long‑term status of the children already sent abroad remains unresolved. Prosecutors had asked for up to ten years for the leader. The case underscores persistent challenges in Indonesia’s fight against child trafficking and cross‑border exploitation.