Child selling schemes are a con, don’t buy it, advises Chong

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong (right) urges couples to go through proper channels as he has seen too many cases of childless couples getting swindled. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Raymund Wong, January 7, 2016.

Go through legitimate channels for adoption, says MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.

"From past cases I have dealt with, foreigners in the country often prey on childless couples," he told reporters today at Wisma MCA.

Chong said the standard scheme was for a mother, usually a foreigner, to offer to sell the child through a middleman to a couple.

"We have seen cases like this. The boys are usually more expensive at RM20,000, and the girls a little less at maybe RM15,000.

"The couples, desperate for a child, are willing to pay.

"They will not call it payment but rather 'ang pao', which is also wrong. This is human trafficking," he said, adding that his office saw 10 such cases last year.

Chong said after a few days, the biological father would go to the adoptive parents and demand for the child back.

"The biological father would say that the mother had run away and he had never agreed to sell the child. He would tell them that if they did not return the child, he would lodge a police report," he said.

Chong urged couples who wish to adopt to engage a lawyer to ensure that the adoption was lawful.

"Some may not want to pay the legal fees, but you can't save money in situations like this. Go through the proper channels, don't do 'hanky panky' business.

"If the child is under 6 years of age, the couple can go through the Social Welfare Department," he said.

Chong said the real victim in cases like this was the child.

"He or she will experience all this psychological trauma. So, please think of the child," he said.

The Malaysian Insider previously reported that a 2-year-old girl, who was reportedly “sold” by her father through a middleman to a Singaporean couple, would be returned to her family.

The couple had reportedly offered to return Angie Tiong after discussions with the family, mediated by Johor Temple Foundation adviser Yap Yeen Min.

- TMI