Debated in Parliament on 4 Nov 2025.
Mr Low Wu Yang Andre asked the Minister for Social and Family Development what steps have been taken with our ASEAN partners to establish common regional standards to protect against child trafficking in intercountry adoptions.
Child trafficking refers to the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring or receiving a child for the purpose of exploitation. This includes instances of the child entering into Singapore under false pretences and the unlawful transfer of the child for valuable consideration. Beyond adoption, such transfers could also be for the purpose of sexual exploitation or child labour.
ASEAN member states have established and adopted regional frameworks to protect against child trafficking in general, and in relation to adoption. These include the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence Against Children from 2016 to 2025. This Regional Plan of Action includes measures to establish extraterritorial jurisdiction for offences and transnational crimes related to the trafficking and sale of children. Such acts are criminalised under the Adoption of Children Act, Children and Young Persons Act, Penal Code, Prevention of Human Trafficking Act and the Women's Charter.
In addition, the 2015 ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children sets out the objectives and obligations of ASEAN member states for tackling child trafficking through a "4Ps" approach – prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership.
Inter-country adoption involves bringing a child into Singapore with the goal of finding the child a permanent home with his or her adopted parents. Our laws and adoption process do not just target child trafficking but also has various proactive safeguards and measures in place. For example, the adoption process includes the verification of the child's identity papers, travel documents and conducting checks with birth parents to ensure they have given valid consent and have not offered the child for adoption for improper financial or material gain.
These measures, together with our criminal laws, work in tandem to prevent and deter the various forms of child trafficking.
Our partnership with ASEAN partners and our Government agencies has worked well to combat child trafficking as a whole. If there are allegations of trafficking, Singapore will render the necessary assistance within the ambit of our laws.
PAPERCUTS