According to a report in the news portal The Sun today, both open and closed Facebook pages detailing the age, gender and health of babies for sale have garnered over 600,000 hits via Google.
Potential adopters are provided with details such as which trimester the expecting mother is at and, based on a case-by-case basis, the mother’s monetary needs until after delivery.
In one of the baby-for-sale pages, the administrator described the platform as being created as “an alternative for biomums and adopted parents.”
Another page meanwhile appeals to couples or individuals unable to care for their babies or who are afraid of being stigmatised due to pregnancies out-of-wedlock, to surrender their babies to them with “no questions asked.”
There was also a testimonial from one satisfied couple, who posted a picture of their baby, saying they were grateful for having adopted the child from a Facebook site.
Yayasan Chow Kit founder Dr Hartini Zainuddin, expressed her concern about the set-up as it was easy to access the baby-for-sale groups via the Internet and said, “The (modus operandi) can involve an intermediary, or through biological mothers with immediate families. This depends on the information available on the FB pages.
“However, there are adoption groups that advise on the adoption process using the proper channels.
“The FB pages that actually advertise the babies by uploading their pictures are the ones the police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Welfare Department should monitor,” The Sun reported her as saying.
On the demand from potential adopters, Hartini said Chinese baby boys fetched the highest price at USD10,000 (RM40,000) per kg while Malay babies ranged in price from RM10,000 to RM25,000 per child with Indian infants priced the lowest.
Transactions were cash-based and fair-skinned babies were the most expensive.
Hartini added, “Babies sold through illegal adoption is not a trafficking offence. It is not a crime to buy babies but it is a crime to sell them.
“The Child Act and Penal Code are not severe enough. Those who sell the babies are taken to court while the ones buying (the) babies are not prosecuted.”