Inp.polri.go.id - Tangerang. The Tangerang City Metropolitan Sub-regional Police have arrested a 36-year-old man for selling his 11-month-old child for Rp 15 million.

Senior Inspector David Yunior Kanitero, the Tangerang Police Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit, confirmed on Friday (4/10/2024) that the suspect, identified as RA, sold his child to meet financial needs while the child's mother was working in Kalimantan.

Police also detained two suspects, HK, 32, and MON, 30, who are accused of buying the infant.

The investigation began when suspect RA saw a Facebook post from suspect MON seeking to buy a baby. He contacted suspect MON through Messenger and WhatsApp to set up a meeting in Tangerang. He brought his child, whom he had been caring for while his wife was away, to the meeting, pretending they were visiting relatives.

During the meeting in Tangerang, RA sold his child to MON for Rp 15 million.

Chief David said that the sale occurred without the mother’s knowledge. When she returned to Jakarta, she asked her husband where their child was. He claimed the baby was in Tangerang, raising her suspicions. After pressing him for details, RA confessed that he had sold their child for Rp 15 million on 20 August 2024.

The mother, identified as RD, immediately reported the case to the Tangerang Police for further investigation.

Following her report, police discovered that the child was being kept in a rented house in Neglasari with HK and MON. During questioning, both admitted to buying the child from RA.

All three suspects are now in custody and face up to 15 years in prison under Law No. 35 of 2014 on Child Protection.

(mg/inp/pr/nm)