ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2023:21681

Share pronunciation

The last day of the trial of Julienne Mpemba from Namur, prosecuted for adoption fraud, human trafficking, kidnapping of minors, hostage-taking, fraud, corruption as well as forgery and use of forged documents, took place this Wednesday before the criminal court of Namur.

Julienne Mpemba, a Belgian-Congolese woman from Namur, is suspected of adoption fraud. Belgian families find themselves with a child stolen from Congo. For the defense, all organizations involved in adoption are responsible. The public prosecutor is requesting 12 years in prison.
 

The last day of the trial of Julienne Mpemba from Namur, prosecuted for adoption fraud, human trafficking, kidnapping of minors, hostage-taking, fraud, corruption as well as forgery and use of forged documents, took place this Wednesday before the criminal court of Namur.

For the civil parties, "The defendant lies compulsively." For the federal public prosecutor, the defendant knew that children had been abducted but she still sent them for adoption. He is requesting a 12-year prison sentence.

However, Julienne Mpemba has always denied the facts with which she is accused.

Korea's domestic adoption system bars international couples from becoming adoptive parents

This July marks a significant milestone for British national Thomas Pallett and his Korean wife surnamed Kang: seven years of unsuccessful attempts to adopt a child in Korea.

The couple, who live in the southeastern port city of Busan, have faced persistent rejections from local adoption agencies, which primarily cite Pallett’s British nationality as the obstacle. They got married in Korea in May 2019, with Pallett obtaining an F-6 marriage visa that grants him permanent residency.

“Our discussions on adoption began in July 2018 even before we were married. When we first met, I was 35 and my wife was 40. We knew having our own child could be difficult,” Pallett said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.

“We tried numerous fertility treatments, including three rounds of in vitro fertilization (IVF), but all were unsuccessful," he said.

CHENNAI: S Velmayil (34) and P Baby (36), prospective adoptive parents with disabilities, were denied a four-month-old baby allocated to them after waiting for four long years, allegedly due to their disabilities.

The couple, hailing from Srivaikuntam in Thoothukudi district, were assigned the baby by a specialised adoption agency in Gandhigram, Dindigul district. However, a five-member adoption committee, which included the district child protection officer, stated that the couple would not be able to care for the child, particularly in the first two years, due to their disability.

Velmayil has a locomotor disability affecting both lower limbs, with 90% disability. Baby also has locomotor disability affecting her right hand and right leg, with 80% disability. Velmayil works at a fuel station, while Baby is a noon meal organiser. They currently live in Thoothukudi with Velmayil’s parents.

Married in 2016, the couple registered to adopt a child in 2020. Following the registration, a social worker conducted a home visit. After completing three years on the waiting list in 2024, they renewed their application this March. Another home visit was done after the renewal as well.

“We registered for adoption at the district child protection office and submitted all documents, including disability certificates. We did the same during the renewal process. Neither the officers present nor any information available from the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) indicated that our disabilities would be a barrier to adopting a child,” said Velmayil.

Julienne Mpemba from Namur is currently being prosecuted for child trafficking. But two years ago, she was ordered to repay €84,363 to Maurice Luca, a former professor at UNamur. He hasn't received anything yet, but he's giving her a chance.
 

Julienne Mpemba , a 47-year-old Belgian-Congolese woman living in Namur, is currently being prosecuted for adoption fraud, human trafficking, kidnapping of minors, hostage-taking, fraud, corruption, forgery and use of forged documents. After eight years of investigation, the case was argued two weeks ago before the criminal court. From the beginning, Julienne has denied the evidence against her. However, the public prosecutor is requesting a 12-year prison sentence.

After some research, we learned that Julienne Mpemba had already been convicted in another case. We contacted Maurice Luca, a philosophy professor at UNamur who has been retired for two years. She actually owes him the sum of €84,363 since a judgment handed down on 20 December 2022 by the Namur Court of First Instance.

Before telling us his story, this former teacher indicates that he wants to respect the principle of presumption of innocence for the case in which Julienne Mpemba is currently charged. But as far as his story is concerned, Julienne has in fact been convicted. "We met in 2012 and she told me about her project for the "Tumani" orphanage in Kinshasa (Editor's note: an orphanage through which the stolen children passed). We got on well and she quickly asked me for €2,500 for her project. I decided to help her because I trusted her," believes Maurice, who has faith in human beings.

For two and a half years, however, he had no news from Julienne. It turns out that she had spent some time in prison for fraud in the context of adoption fraud, a case that is currently being argued. “Then around 2018, when I had no news, I showed up at her house. She was at rock bottom and was taking a lot of medication. I listened to her. She told me she wanted to relaunch a legal consultancy firm in Congo. But she had no money. I offered to help her again.”

PUDUCHERRY: A Puducherry resident who was trying to adopt a child was cheated of Rs 1.07 lakh by an online group posing as an adoption agency. The victim, Sinode, had reached out to the group after spotting a Facebook advertisement for child adoption under the name ‘Anbu Illam’ said Inspector (Cyber Wing) BC Keerthi.

Sinode responded to the ad and was soon contacted by the fraudsters. They sent him photographs of more than ten children, asking which one he would like to adopt. Believing the scheme to be genuine, Sinode continued the conversation. Over the span of a month, the group tricked him into transferring Rs 1.07 lakh, in various installments, under the guise of handling “legal proceedings” for the adoption.

The scam came to light when Sinode realised that despite the payments, no real progress was made, prompting him to report the matter to cyber police. Authorities are now investigating the case to trace the fraudsters.

BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka has directed a couple from India to follow the Hague Convention and apply for a 'Conformity Certificate' for their adopted child through the German authorities as the husband is a resident of that country.

The couple had knocked on the doors of the HC seeking a direction to the District Child Protection Unit for issuing them with a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) and a 'Conformity Certificate'.

The couple had adopted a girl child and the adoption deed between the biological mother and the couple was registered before the sub-registrar in the district headquarters town of Chikkaballapura on March 29, 2023.

The Deputy Commissioner had also verified the deed and recommended that necessary action be taken for the adoption.

But still the District Child Protection Unit refused to grant them the NOC and Conformity Certificate.

Content indication

The legislative history shows that restraint is appropriate in the case of adoption if there is opposition from one of the parents. In the context of a complex divorce, such as the case with the parents of an adult, even more restraint is appropriate when it comes to (step-parent) adoption. Moreover, the child has now reached the age of majority, which also requires restraint, since adoption is in principle intended as a child protection measure.

Full pronunciation

Born in 1979 at Daegu Fatima Hospital, he was entrusted to the 8th US Army in November of that year
and set out to find his biological parents after 40 years… Scheduled to enter Korea in May of this year

Kim Bok-sun (German name Regina Brandl , 44 ) , who was adopted to Germany at the age of 4 months, is desperately searching for her biological parents.

Kim was born around September 7, 1979 at the Fatima Hospital in Daegu. She entered the Baekbaekhap Orphanage run by the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres on October 2. Her Korean name, Kim Bok-sun, was given to her by an orphanage official at the time. Kim was handed over to the 8th US Army on November 1, and was adopted by a family in Aulendorf, Germany, around January of the following year.

Kim has no memories of her biological parents or Korea because she was adopted as a newborn. Furthermore, her adoptive parents, although devout Catholics, were very strict, so she said she never had a comfortable conversation about her biological parents or Korea. Kim is currently working as a teacher and yoga instructor for disabled children in Germany.

She began searching for her bloodline in earnest about two years ago. The advice that a Korean adoptee who was looking for his biological parents gave me was crucial: "Time doesn't wait, so I hope you find your biological parents quickly before they pass away."

Although she grew up as a German citizen since she was four months old, Kim said, “My body instinctively remembers Korea.” When she was suffering from a stomach disorder, she heard that Korean food was good for her health and started making it herself. The first time she tried gochujang, she really liked it. Strangely enough, after she started eating Korean food as her staple food, her stomach disorder that had been bothering her completely disappeared. Kim is a Korean food enthusiast who enjoys eating budaejjigae and makes kimchi herself. Kim

visited Daegu in May of last year to find her biological parents. At the time, she visited the Dongbu Police Station and registered her DNA information. She plans to enter the country this year as well. She will visit Korea with her German husband next month. She also plans to attend the ‘2024 World Korean Adoption Convention’ hosted by the Overseas Koreans Office from May 21 to 24 . "I like gardening and exercising, and I wonder if my biological mother is like this. Right now, my roots feel like fog, and I want to find my biological parents and fill that void." Contact: Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, Daegu Province, 053)659-3333.