SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Singapore government has charged two Indonesians for putting their kidneys up for sale in the city-state, in what local media say is the first prosecution against organ trade in the country.
The health ministry said in a statement two Indonesian menhave been arrested and charged for organ trading and lying to ahospital ethics committee. Both men have pleaded guilty and aredue to be sentenced this month.
One of the potential recipients was Tang Wee Sung, the headof CK Tang, a well-known Singapore retailer.
Singapore bans trading of organs and blood, and those foundguilty may be fined up to S$10,000 (3,682 pounds) or jailed upto a year.
"Organ trading often involves the exploitation of the poorand socially disadvantaged donors who are unable to make aninformed choice and suffer potential medical risks," theministry said.
The Straits Times said on Saturday one of the Indonesianshad agreed to sell his kidney to Tang Wee Sung, the executivechairman of CK Tang, for 150 million rupiah (8,170 pounds), butthe deal was scuppered when the health ministry intervened.
The two Indonesian men said they were related to the buyersand denied having received money for giving up their organs,the paper said.
One of the men, who succeeded in selling his organ to anIndonesian woman for 186 million rupiah, convinced an ethicspanel his buyer was his adopted mother and the transplantoperation took place in a Singapore hospital in March.
In the case of Tang, whose upmarket Tangs shopping mall isa landmark along Singapore's Orchard shopping belt, the healthministry sensed something was amiss after blood samples frommultiple sources were sent from abroad to Singapore to bematched against Tang's sample, the Straits Times said.
Tang has not been charged, the paper said.
According to the World Health Organisation, organtraffickers can buy organs for as little as $1,000 (502 pounds)and sell them to wealthy clients for as much as $200,000.
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)