Asia Specific, Inside a major baby trafficking trial in Indonesia

Asia Specific

Inside a major baby trafficking trial in Indonesia

17 July 2026

Available for over a year

Multiple families in Singapore are facing an unimaginable possibility that the children they legally adopted from Indonesia may have been victims of an alleged baby trafficking network.

A major trial is underway in Indonesia involving 19 defendants accused of buying babies, forging documents, and arranging adoptions of the children, including at least 12 babies who were brought to Singapore. The defendants deny the allegations.

The case has raised difficult questions about international adoption, how trafficking networks operate and why vulnerable parents give up their babies.

On this episode of Asia Specific, host Mariko Oi speaks to BBC journalists Tessa Wong in Singapore and Astudestra Ajengrastri in Jakarta about the ongoing trial, the families caught up in the case, and what could happen to the children.

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Hosted in Singapore by Mariko Oi, alongside BBC experts in Beijing, Bangkok, and beyond – listen to new episodes twice a week. Episodes of Asia Specific are also available on YouTube, here: https://bit.ly/4iJyeVt

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