While some babies bought through such transactions may end up in loving homes, their legal status often becomes a problem when discovered by the authorities.
Typically, the National Registration Department (NRD) conducts internal investigations, issues letters, and renders these children stateless.
In many cases, the baby goes to the highest bidder, with no screening or criteria for the adoptive parents. Birth certificates often include falsified details, even though the documents themselves appear genuine.
Over the past five years, there has been an alarming increase in cases where the NRD revokes the citizenship of children with falsified documents when they attempt to obtain Malaysian Identification Cards (ICs).
Impact on children
When these cases are discovered, the adoptive parent is...