To Save A Baby

Baby selling is a huge business in Malaysia andHeidy Quah is on hand to bring us deep into the tangled dark web of illegal infant trade

- Jerrica Leong

How much do you know about human trafficking? Do you know what falls under the category of human trafficking? Did you know that baby selling is also a form of human trafficking?

The underground baby selling business in our country first came to light in 2016 when Al Jazeera’s 101 East went undercover to expose the heinous process of just how easy it was to purchase a baby. After the exposé, many businesses were closed down, and up to eight people were arrested while one person was imprisoned. However, the business of selling babies didn’t stop there. It continued to strive and flourish even after it came under international scrutiny. It didn’t bother the syndicates; they continued selling babies either by “farming” babies or by kidnapping unsuspecting pregnant mothers. One such example is child activist Heidy Quah’s latest rescue from a clinic in Kuala Lumpur.

You may know Heidy as the founder of Refuge for the Refugees, the saviour of refugees, or the sole Malaysian winner of the 2017 Queen’s Young Leader Award. As of late, Heidy has focused her attention on other children-related causes such as rescuing children from abusive situations or, like her latest case, baby selling.

It all began with Heidy receiving a call from a lady begging for help. She was a migrant and had just given birth in a local clinic. According to the lady, the clinic required her to pay a deposit before the birth of her child. After giving birth, however, the clinic detained her because of her inability to pay the full amount, and refused to allow her to leave the premises even to find the money she needed to pay them.