Meanwhile, Hendra Samuel Tampubolon, the lawyer for accused recruiter Astri, also criticised the sentence demand.
“The prosecutors are seeking a 10-year sentence (for Astri), which is almost the same as the sentence sought against Lily. In our view, this reflects a lack of fairness because it treats them as though they were equally culpable. Lily was the mastermind … Astri only acted under Lily’s control,” he said.
The 19 defendants and their lawyers are given the chance to respond to the sentence recommendation and plea for leniency from the court when the trial resumes next week.
WHAT WAS THE CASE
According to court documents seen by CNA, Lily has confessed in a May 26 trial to trafficking at least 12 babies to Singapore receiving anywhere between S$17,000 (US$13,100) and S$21,600 per child.
She told the court that she was first contacted by a person named “John” in late 2022 saying that there was a couple from Singapore who were looking to adopt a child from Indonesia.
Lily told the court that she eventually found an Indonesian couple living in Pontianak, West Kalimantan who were struggling to pay for their child’s delivery. The defendant gave the Indonesian couple 58 million rupiah (US$3,200) to pay for the hospital bills, in exchange for their child.
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