Please help find and return my son to me, says Deepa

S. Deepa today appealed to all Malaysians to help find her son, V. Mithran, who was abducted by her former husband 50 days ago. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Najjua Zulkefli, May 29, 2014.Following police inaction over a court order, a tearful S. Deepa today appealed to all Malaysians to help find her son, V. Mithran, who was abducted by her former husband 50 days ago.

Deepa said she and her daughter Sharmila, 9, were now living in fear.

"I cannot return home because I am worried that my husband will abduct Sharmila as well," Deepa said at a press conference at the Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) in Petaling Jaya today, adding that her fear was compounded by the fact that police were not willing to follow the latest High Court order to return her son.

Deepa's ex-husband, N. Viran, or Izwan Abdullah (following his conversion), abducted Mithran from his former wife's house on April 9, saying it was for the child's "protection".

WAO advocacy officer Sally Wangsawijaya had earlier said there had been no news from the police on Izwan's or Mithran's whereabouts.

"The Seremban High Court issued an order on May 21 under the Child Act to compel not only Izwan, but the police as well, to ensure Mithran's immediate return.

"We handed a copy of the order to Bukit Aman on May 23 and it was acknowledged by the police," Sally said.

However, she said the police informed WAO that they had referred the issue to the Attorney-General's Chambers because of the conflicting court orders.

While Deepa had been awarded custody of the children by the Seremban High Court, Izwan was granted custody by the Shariah High Court last year.

Sally called on the police to enforce the order issued by the Seremban High Court as soon as possible.

"Deepa's equal rights to make decisions regarding the upbringing of her children have not been upheld until today," she said.

Sally said the Seremban High Court order clearly stated police were duty-bound to execute the order, which included overruling any order from the Shariah court.

"The police are also allowed to use reasonable force to ensure that Mithran is returned to Deepa.

"Not only has Deepa suffered over the past few years, but both six-year-old Mithran and Sharmila have also been subjected to a lot of stress.”

Sally blamed Putrajaya because it has not resolved Deepa's issue and other similar cases.

"Many women, such as S. Shamala, R. Subashini and Indira Gandhi, have all gone through the same trauma and stress as Deepa.

"When will Putrajaya make the necessary amendments to the law to safeguard the rights of women and their children upon the conversion of their husbands to Islam?

"We are not asking for new laws and policies, we are just asking for the existing rights to be preserved and upheld," Sally said.

"What is the point of obtaining court orders if it is not enforced?"

Deepa said she hoped that MPs and state assemblymen would intervene and ensure that Mithran was returned to her.

Both Negri Sembilan police chief Datuk Osman Salleh and state CID chief Assistant Commissioner Hamdan Majid declined to comment when contacted by The Malaysian Insider.

On April 7, High Court judge Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof granted Deepa custody of Sharmila and Mithran, both of whom had been converted to Islam without her knowledge in April last year.

Zabariah also allowed Deepa's application to dissolve her civil marriage, as Izwan had converted to Islam.

The judge allowed Deepa's application as the civil court had jurisdiction over the matter and provide the relief for custody and dissolution of the couple's marriage.

However, two days later, Izwan abducted Mithran and said that it was for the child's "protection".

Deepa lodged a police report over the abduction.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had come under fire from civil society then when he said that police would not act to locate Mithran as both Deepa and Izwan had valid custody orders from the civil and Shariah courts respectively.

In December last year, Deepa filed an application to obtain custody of the children who were converted by the husband after he embraced Islam in 2012 and to quash the custody order by the Shariah court.

The 30-year-old clerk from Jelebu said her lorry driver husband left her and her children three years ago and did not support them financially.

He subsequently converted to Islam.

Izwan failed in the Court of Appeal on Tuesday to suspend the Seremban High Court's ruling giving custody of the two children to Deepa.

A three-man bench chaired by Datuk Mohd Hishammuddin Mohd Yunus said there were no special circumstances in the case to allow the Izwan’s application.

"Further, the conduct of the appellant (convert) in violating the April 7 High Court order precludes him from making this application," Hishammuddin said.