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Thursday July 3, 7:45 PMTwo Indonesians found guilty of illegal organ tradeSINGAPORE, July 3 (Reuters) - Two Indonesians have been found guilty by a Singapore court of illegally agreeing to sell their kidneys in the city-state, court documents showed on Thursday.Sulaiman bin Damanik, who was to sell his kidney to a well-known Singaporean retailer for S$23,700 ($17,460) in June this year, was found guilty of agreeing to sell his kidney and lying to officials. He was fined S$1,000 and sentenced to two weeks in jail. Toni, who liaised between Sulaiman and the prospective Singaporean kidney buyer, was fined S$2,000 and sentenced to three-and-a-half months in jail. Toni managed to sell his kidney earlier this year before becoming the middleman for Sulaiman's transaction. Both men had lied to Singapore health officials, saying they were related to the recipients, and denied accepting money. However Sulaiman's surgery was scuppered after Singapore's health ministry intervened. According to court documents, both men pleaded for leniency citing poverty as spurring them to sell their kidneys. Sulaiman was the sole breadwinner of this family earning S$120 a month, while Toni, who has two children and a third on the way, worked as a garbage collector earning S$140 monthly. Singapore bans trading of organs and blood. Those found guilty can be fined up to S$10,000 ($7,369) or jailed up to a year. "I am of the view that the sentence imposed should resonate a clear signal that Singapore does not and will not condone the commercial trade in human organs and offenders will be subject to severe penalties if convicted," Judge Bala Reddy said, according to court documents. The intended recipient of Sulaiman's kidney has not been charged, according to local media reports. According to the World Health Organisation, organ traffickers can buy organs for as little as $1,000 and sell them to wealthy clients for as much as $200,000. (Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Alex Richardson) |
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