When mum and dad are the kidnappers
Parental abduction has long been a problem in Thailand, where legal loopholes and lack of official bodies or mechanisms to deal with local and international custody battles mean they often come to be seen by police as a mere internal family matter
- Published: 28 Oct 2012 at 00.00
- Newspaper section: Spectrum
It was only a month ago, on Sept 28, that 11-year-old Michael was abducted from his school in Nonthaburi province by his own father. Lek, the mother left behind, has yet to hear any word of their whereabouts.
Sobbing while talking by telephone from Chiang Mai, the grief-stricken mother told Spectrum that she was afraid the boy's Italian father, Paolo (the names in this story have been changed), might take him abroad. ''He has Michael's documents and passport,'' she said.
The Immigration Department, however, has no record of them leaving the country. She wonders whether it was possible for them to have travelled abroad through other checkpoints.
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