Druggie father sells 2-year-old daughter for 'adoption' by Singaporean couple

In November 2015, the father of two-year-old Angie Tiong lodged a complaint with Johor Baru police that his little girl had been kidnapped.

The father allegedly claimed that a male acquaintance had taken little Angie for a walk from a budget hotel in an area near the Causeway, but never returned with the girl, says a New Paper report.

He also said that the man, before he left, "gave him a few thousand ringgit".

Now, news reports have revealed the truth in a very different story.

Drugs, money and lies

Angie's relatives, who had been looking after her, recently told Malaysian police and the press that the little girl's father (who is a drug addict), had taken her away from them on November 9 2015.

He said he was taking the little girl out to play. The little girl's Vietnamese mother had returned to her home country when her daughter was just five months old.

But when Angie's father did not bring the girl back, her relatives filed a police report early in December 2015, says The Straits Times.

Reports now say that the girl's father has confessed to selling his daughter for 12,000 ringgit (S$4,000) "at a law firm with the assistance of a middleman."

Once the deal was sealed, the middleman took away Angie's passport, as well as all legal documents. The girl was then allegedly "adopted" by a childless couple in Singapore.

The Singaporean couple have reportedly returned the girl to Johor police on 31 December 2015. Reports say  the relatives "have vowed to fight for her custody, so that she can be under their care for good."

Adopt the correct way

If you are in the the process of or considering adoption, please go through the correct and legal channels.

Click on the following Ministry of Social and Family Development links for more information:

• Information on who can adopt.
• Adopting a Singaporean or Permanent Resident child. 
• How to adopt a foreign child. 

Share your thoughts on this article in a comment below.