Indonesia says adoption of 18 children in S'pore illegal, considers bringing them back

Indonesia has declared the adoption of 18 Indonesian children in Singapore illegal, saying the arrangements did not comply with its adoption laws.

The country's Ministry of Social Affairs said the children were linked to a trafficking syndicate uncovered by West Java police in 2025, according to Antara on Nov. 5.

Some of the children have since obtained Singapore citizenship, while adoption proceedings involving eight others are still ongoing.

Adoption procedures did not meet Indonesian requirements

Kahono Agung Suhartoyo, director of child social rehabilitation at Indonesia's Ministry of Social Affairs, said Singapore authorities had sought clarification on the eight pending adoption cases.

"We said the adoptions were illegal because they did not meet Indonesia's requirements," he told Antara.

Under Indonesian law, international adoptions must go through the Child Adoption Advisory Team, which includes representatives from government agencies such as the police, foreign affairs and social affairs ministries, and the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI).

Prospective adoptive parents must also meet several conditions, including having lived in Indonesia for at least two years, being no older than 55 and passing physical and psychological assessments.

Suhartoyo said Indonesia considered the adoption procedures legally flawed because the children's transfer involved a human trafficking syndicate.

He cited a court ruling in Bandung involving the syndicate.

Indonesia considering bringing children back

Indonesian authorities are discussing possible solutions with Singapore through the Indonesian Embassy, including the option of bringing the children back to Indonesia.

Suhartoyo said discussions were taking place through the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore.

The Social Affairs Ministry was also prepared to provide protection and rehabilitation services if the children returned to Indonesia.

According to Antara, information obtained by KPAI indicated that the children came from families in West Java.

However, their identity documents had allegedly been falsified to show that they were from West Kalimantan.

Suhartoyo said the ministry was working to identify the children's biological parents before determining how they could be reunited with their families.

S'pore authorities working with Indonesia

In a joint statement on Jan. 9, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said they were working with Indonesian authorities to review allegations of babies being trafficked into Singapore for adoption.

The ministries also said the ongoing investigations had delayed the processing of some citizenship applications for the children.

MSF and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had been engaging affected adoptive parents to explain the situation.

The authorities said they were working to resolve the cases as quickly as possible while safeguarding the children's welfare and interests.