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Couple vows to carry on fight to win back missing children |
IMAGINE being told you have custody of your children, only to have them whisked away from you and taken to another country.
Former Geelong resident Geoff Day stood by, powerless, as this happened
to his wife Jane, who held her daughter for the first time in almost a
year, only to lose her again.
Jane lost her two children in April last year when her Malaysian
parents allegedly refused to return their passports after an argument
with their daughter.
Since then the couple has waged battles in Australian, Malaysian and
now Hong Kong courts, spending more than $100,000 fighting to get the
children back.
But they still don't know where the children are.
They came close to winning in March, when Jane was awarded custody in an Australian family court.
Geoff and Jane flew to Malaysia, where Jane was able to again hold her
four-year-old daughter, Alison. But it was only for a few minutes - the
Australian ruling held no weight in Malaysia.
A few days later the couple read in a local Malaysian newspaper that the two children, Alison and Justin, had left the country.
"Jane collapsed on the floor, she couldn't believe it," Geoff said, speaking from their Perth home yesterday.
Jane's parents were quoted in the newspaper as saying the children had
gone to Hong Kong to be with their birth father. They also dismissed
their daughter's claims as mischief.
That was in April this year.
The ordeal began a year earlier.
Jane and her children, then aged three and four, were in Malaysia,
staying with her parents. An argument broke out over Jane's wish to
divorce her husband - who spent much of his time working overseas away
from the family - and pursue a relationship with Geoff.
Her parents did not approve and threw her out of the family home,
refusing to hand over her children's passports which were locked in a
safe, Geoff said.
Geoff and Jane now believe the children have left Hong Kong. The last
trace of them was in the city of Guangzhou, in mainland China.
Meanwhile, they are still fighting for custody in Malaysia, in case the children return there, he said.
The prospect of letting go is not an option.
"I will spend every last penny and every last breath in getting those kids back for my wife," Geoff said.
"Jane will never give up, that's not in her vocabulary."
It was while they were still in Malaysia, coming to grips with what had
happened, that Geoff decided he wanted to do something to help others
in similar situations.
After their experience was highlighted in Perth, Geoff and Jane met another woman who had lost her child to family overseas.
Together the trio formed a support and action group for parents.
"We're not the only ones in Australia who this has happened to," Geoff said.
"I've found new meaning in life, this is something I want to do to help other parents."
The group aims to offer support and advice to parents in similar circumstances.
They can be contacted via their website at <http://www.hug-ur-kids.org.au>
SOURCE: Geelong Advertiser,
Wednesday, August 1, 2001.
BY KATIE HYDER
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