Indira's wait continues for daughter

From Malaysiakini, Humayun Kabir , Aug 9, 2010, 5:49pm

The legal team for kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi has been frustrated in its bid to serve a custody order on her former husband Mohd Riduan Abdullah @ K Pathmanathan.

Mohd Riduan is believed to be living in Kelantan with their youngest daughter Prasana Diksa, aged two, whom he has refused to surrender to her following his conversion to Islam.

She took her case to the Ipoh High Court, which awarded her custody on March 11 and gave weekly visiting rights to their father. Their two older children are already living with Indira.

Indira's lawyer M Kulasegaran (right) was to have travelled to Kelantan yesterday to personally serve the custody order at the office of Mohd Riduan's lawyers.

On Saturday evening, however, he received a phone call from one of Riduan's lawyers claiming that their client could not be contacted and advising Kulasegaran not to travel out.

Kulasegaran said today that he would resort to a substitute process - by way of an application giving the reasons why the court's order cannot be personally served on Riduan.

The court will then give a ruling to either serve the order at Mohd Riduan's last-known address or to place advertisements in the newspapers.

“We will soon file the application in the Ipoh High Court,” said the lawyer.

'Police should help'

He said Indira can only go for a contempt of court ruling against her husband if the court's order to surrender the child has been served on Riduan.

Kulasegaran also asked the police and relevant authorities to help track Mohd Riduan, so that Prasana can be returned to her mother.

Mohd Riduan had earlier said he would only abide by the Syariah Court ruling that gave him custody of the children, who he had converted to Islam without their mother's knowledge.

On July 28, the High Court allowed Indira leave (permission) to apply to quash the certificates of conversion to Islam of the children.

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