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Mother in custody row must return twins to US
[2011] 05 Mar_ST
Title: Mother in custody row must return twins to US
Source: Straits Times
Author: K.C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
Legal News Archive
SHE fled to Singapore from the United States with her young twin sons in the midst of a custody battle with her ex-husband.
But the Singaporean mother has received no sympathy from a district judge.
The 45-year-old - wanted by Interpol for alleged kidnapping - has been given two weeks to return to the US with her primary school-age twins.
Once there, she faces being immediately arrested. She is also likely to lose custody of her sons.
This is because her ex-husband was granted sole custody last September, after she failed to attend the hearing.
District Judge Angelina Hing gave her until Monday to show copies of the plane tickets for the US trip to the man's lawyer, Mr Foo Say Tun.
But she did not order the children's immediate return, saying they need time to complete their school semester, say their farewells and prepare for their trip.
The judge's decision comes after the International Child Abduction Act was brought into force in Singapore on Tuesday.
Yesterday, the mother said when contacted that she and her family were 'very saddened' by the judgment.
She said: 'Don't punish the boys for what I did. That is not fair. This is not about him or me, it is about the boys.
'Whatever I did, it was for their good and I am not going to run away from whatever I have to face. I wanted to protect them and for them to be happy.'
She said her lawyer is looking into an appeal.
The couple - who cannot be named to avoid identifying the twins - married in November 1999 and the boys were born about four months later.
They moved to California in July 2004, where the marriage was annulled in March 2009.
The woman became embroiled in a court battle over the children with her husband, a banker in his 40s who is a Singapore permanent resident. In August 2009, she brought the children to Singapore without his permission.
Checks by The Straits Times found she is now on Interpol's Red Notice wanted list, after a warrant was issued in California.
Over the past 18 months she has made several legal attempts to resist sending the children - who hold Singapore and American passports - back to the US.
Her lawyers produced a report from the Health Sciences Authority at the most recent hearing showing that the twins' biological father is not the ex-husband.
But Judge Hing said the Singapore courts could not 'endorse her act of contempt of the US court order' granting sole custody of the boys to her ex-husband. She said the mother had not acted in the children's interest when she took them out of the US, and should return to resolve all issues.
'(She) is in blatant breach of US court orders. This court cannot condone her conduct and will not assist her in prolonging the proceedings here,' said Judge Hing.
In the grounds for her judgement issued on Thursday, she said the boys must be returned to Department 88 of the Los Angeles Superior Court in California by March 14.
The woman's lawyer, Mr Raymond Yeo, had urged the court to consider Singapore's ratification of the Act and apply its principles.
But Judge Hing said: 'This is precisely what is being done.'
Parliament passed the Act last September, making Singapore one of 83 countries agreeing to track down and return children taken abroad without the permission of the parent who has custody. This will ensure that custody disputes are settled by the courts in the most relevant country and help avoid protracted and expensive cross-border lawsuits.
The move was also meant as a safeguard, as more Singaporeans are marrying foreigners.
Lawyers said the case sent a clear message that parents cannot just breach a court order and run.
'I think we are likely to see more such cases coming up than before,' said family lawyer Rajan Chettiar.
Last night the police said they are in contact with US authorities about the case.
vijayan@sph.com.sg
