Singapore - Two Indonesian men who agreed to sell their kidneys for more than 20,000-Singapore-dollars (14,814-US-dollars) each were given light prison terms and fines after a judge blamed syndicates for exploiting them, news reports said on Friday. Sulaiman Damanik, 26, was sentenced to two weeks in jail and fined 1,000 Singapore dollars (740 US dollars). Toni was jailed for 14 weeks and fined 2,000 Singapore dollars (1,492 US dollars).
It was the first case of its kind in the city-state.
"Longer custodial sentences should be reserved for the ringleaders and other major players in such syndicated offences who profit by exploiting the poor and disadvantaged," The Straits Times quoted District Judge Bala Reddy as saying on Thursday.
Organ trading is banned in Singapore and in many other countries.
Sulaiman had agreed to sell his kidney to Singaporean retail magnate Tang Wee Sung, the boss of CK Tang. He also posed as a relative, the court heard.
The operation did not go through when the deal was uncovered.
Toni sold one of his kidneys to a Juliana Soh in March. After the successful transplant carried out in the city-state, he became a runner for the syndicate, accompanying the would-be donor to meet the recipient.
Nearly 600 people in Singapore are on a kidney list with an average wait of nine years.
Toni and Sulaiman knew they were breaking the law, but went ahead because they needed the money, the justice said.
Toni had lost his job, his wife was expecting their third child, and mortgage payments for his house were piling up.
Sulaiman had also lost his job, and his elderly parents depended on him for care.
The men had not actively solicited an offer for the kidneys, the judge said. Rather, syndicates exploited their "poor and socially disadvantaged background."
