Muslim convert accused of abducting son after losing custody to Hindu ex-wife
The Malay Mail Online – 11 hours agoRELATED CONTENT
- Deepa Subramaniam (left) and her lawyer Jayamalar Raman (right) outside the High …
KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — A Muslim convert has been accused of having his six-year-old son snatched from his ex-wife today, after a Seremban High Court awarded the Hindu woman custody on Monday.
Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) advocacy officer Sally Wangsawijaya alerted The Malay Mail Online to the incident that took place hours earlier in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan.
“Our client, Deepa, her son was abducted by her husband in the morning. She is also injured.
“This is in breach of the custody order that was given to her on Monday,” she said in a brief text message.
Wangsawijaya also emailed a copy of a police report of the incident made at 9.37am today, as filed by Deepa Subramaniam, 30, against her ex-husband Viran Nagapan.
Deepa, a Hindu, claimed the man, whose Muslim name is Izwan Abdullah, had snatched their son Mithran Viran from outside her house this morning after chatting with him minutes earlier.
She said Izwan sped off with the boy in a green Pajero.
In the police report, Deepa said her clothes were caught in the car door as she gave chase, causing her to fall and get dragged along the road.
Deepa said her left side and back were injured, adding that her head had also hit the road during the incident.
Deepa is expected to file for committal tomorrow. That may allow the court to issue a warrant to arrest Izwan for contempt of court.
When contacted by The Malay Mail Online, WAO advocacy officer Sally Wangsawijaya said that Deepa is a “victim of domestic violence” who had in the past lodged multiple police reports against Izwan.
The courts then issued a Interim Protection Order (IPO) to restrain Deepa’s former husband from committing “further domestic violence” against her, Sally said, adding that the “restraining order” was still valid.
According to WAO’s Umadevi Rajah Denram, Izwan’s visiting rights was limited to weekly visits on Sundays, at Deepa’s house and under her supervision, adding that he was barred from bringing the two children out of the house.
Uma also confirmed that Deepa’s other child — a nine-year-old daughter — is safe and with her mother.
On Monday, the Seremban High Court granted Deepa full custody of her two children as her marriage to Viran in 2004 was a civil union and did not come under Shariah law, also permitting her to divorce Viran who converted to Islam in 2012.
It remains unclear if the High Court’s judgement overrules an earlier decision by the Shariah Court, which awarded custody of the children to Viran in April last year.
It is understood that Viran, who currently works for an Islamic NGO called Kasih Sayang, had converted both their children in April last year without Deepa’s consent.
Deepa, who filed for divorce and custody of the children in December last year, has been estranged from her husband since 2011.
