Another victim of baby-for-sale syndicate rescued

Penang police rescued a three-year-old girl and arrested a married couple in an operation in Bukit Mertajam here yesterday.

Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi (pic) said the couple, in their 50s, were believed to have bought the girl from a child-for-sale syndicate, believed to have been active in the northern states since 2009.

The arrest of the couple brings the total number of suspects arrested so far to 36, including a doctor and a civil servant from the National Registration Department, he told reporters here today.

The anti-sales of babies and children operation, dubbed Ops Pintas Sayang, which was launched to track down the individuals involved in the syndicate, had seen the arrest of 33 suspects last week, and another last Sunday.

On Jan 24, Penang police uncovered the sales of baby and child-for-sale syndicate which had been active in Penang, Kedah and Perak, and rescued eight babies and children, aged between two months and eight years.