S. Deepa case: Federal Court orders son abducted by husband brought to court

Women’s Aid Organisation 

Press statement, 6 January 2015

For more information: Yu Ren Chung 
renchung.wao@gmail.com , 010 225 7971

We welcome today’s decision by the Federal Court ordering Izwan Abdullah, S. Deepa’s ex-husband, to bring their six-year old son to court. Deepa had obtained custody of her two children, but Izwan had abducted the son afterwards.

The Federal Court had adjourned the hearing of Izwan’s application for a stay of execution of the Recovery Order issued by the High Court of Seremban. The Recovery Order compels the police to retrieve Deepa’s son, whom Izwan abducted, and return him to Deepa.

The Federal Court agreed that Izwan is in contempt of court for not complying with the Custody Order (which grants custody to Deepa), and therefore cannot appear in court until he purges his contempt. The Federal Court ordered Izwan to comply with the Custody Order by bringing the son to court on 14 January 2015.

This decision is yet another affirmation—this time by the highest court in the land—of Deepa’s rights as a mother to be with her children, whom she has lawfully obtained custody of.

Yet the court’s decision will be meaningless unless it is complied with. We urge Izwan to respect the rule of law and return the son to Deepa on 14 January 2015. We urge the police to enforce the rule of law and ensure the son is returned to Deepa.

To avoid future agony of other families, we once again call for family laws to be amended to explicitly disallow unilateral conversions, as per the 2009 Cabinet decision.

WOMEN’S AID ORGANISATION (WAO) provides shelter, social work, and counseling services for domestic violence survivors and advocates for women’s human rights. Call our counselling line at 03 7956 3488 or SMS TINA at 018 988 8058 if you or someone you know is experiencing abuse. Together, we change lives.