87 kids abducted by estranged spouses last year - report

Telenisa Legal Clinic report released today indicated that 87 children were abducted by estranged spouses after divorce last year.

“This is out of 251 kids affected during divorce, which stands at 35 percent of the figures.

“In 2022, 76 children were abducted out of 311 kids affected by divorce, which stands at 24 percent of the figures,” the report reads.

The findings are part of their 2023 report, based on dealing with 459 clients focusing on issues concerning children and wives. Of those clients, 93 percent were women and seven percent were men.

The top three clients are from Selangor (200), Kuala Lumpur (105) and Johor (44).

In terms of occupation, 26 percent of them are homemakers, 24 percent work as support staff and 17 percent are professionals.

The rest of the clients' issues involve custody and visitation rights, and others.

For the record, the report mentioned that typically, these abductions take place after divorce or separation between couples, where one unilaterally takes away their child without the consent or knowledge of the other party.

Authorities not proactive

On why parents resort to abducting their own child, Sisters In Islam legal officer Syafiqah Fikir told Malaysiakini that it was due to “their refusal to cooperate with their ex-spouse and failing to prioritise the child’s welfare”.

She added that there had been no proactive efforts from the authorities to address child abduction involving estranged spouses.

“We have not seen proactive efforts from authorities, especially since the police don’t view cases where parents abduct their children as emergencies or urgent matters,” she claimed.

As such, she said mothers have no choice but to use other means to recover their children, such as by hiring a private investigator.

“However, there is no way for the mother to communicate with the children taken by the father.

“In most cases, the mother cannot even contact the father, let alone have the chance to see the children,” Syafiqah said.

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