KUALA LUMPUR – The High Court ordered the immediate release of three children who were converted to Islam without permission back to their birth mother.
The three children of Loh Siew Hong, a Hindu Chinese were placed under the care of the Social Welfare Department (JKM) and the Perlis Islamic Religious Department although the woman was awarded the sole custody of her children by the High Court earlier.
The three children aged between 10 to 14 years old were converted to Islam by their father, Nagahswaran Muniandy in 2019, who is currently serving his sentence in the jail for drug offence.
The Perlis Islamic Religious Department had changed the religion status of the three children without the permission of their mother.
High Court Judge, Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah said that he allowed the appeal of Siew Hong to get the full custodial rights of her children as ordered by the court earlier. The judgement drove Siew Hong to tears and her cries could be heard from the public gallery.
Earlier, Siew Hong alleged that her children were taken away from her while she was receiving her treatment after being abused and injured by her ex-husband, Nagahswaran in 2019. He also unilaterally converted the three children to Islam without her permission in Perlis despite the conversion of a child’s faith can only be done with the consent of both parents according to the Federal Constitution. She had been unable to see her children for three years since.
However, the Mufti of Perlis, Datuk Seri Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin defended the faith of the three children, claiming that they became Muslims voluntarily. -MalaysiaGazette
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