In a last-ditch attempt to remain with her children, a Cape Town mom has agreed to move with them after the court ruled that Thailand was their habitual place of residence.
The woman, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of her children, has been fighting in court to remain in South Africa and not go back to Thailand where her ex-husband, the children’s father, resides.
When the Cape Town woman married the British national in 2007, they both had children from previous relationships. But, it’s their 11-year-old daughter and 8-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, who have been at the centre of this legal battle for shared custody and allegations that she abducted her children when she left Thailand.
The family have lived in South Africa, the UK and Singapore before they moved to Thailand. In his judgement handed down last month, Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai gave the mother the option to either move to Thailand with the children or send them to their father on their own; but ultimately found the father must have access to them.
Friday was the deadline for the mom to inform the court of her decision and she said she would confirm that she’d leave the country.
The date to confirm this with the court comes before the window period of 15 days to apply for leave to appeal the judgement. The mother said: “I don’t have to file my appeal (of the judgement) today (Friday). I am still entitled to the normal 15 days allowed for applying for leave to appeal. Should the children be returned to Thailand, I will accompany them, I am letting them know.”
She also confirmed that her legal representative in Thailand and an NGO has approached the courts once again to clarify that she did not abduct her children when she returned to South Africa. She said: “The (Thai) judge was not aware that their visas and passports had expired … at the time I left Thailand all of their visas and passports had expired, he was not aware of this.”
As directed by the Western Cape High Court the children’s father has to pay for their return to Thailand and the family’s accommodation there. The mother said she will return to Thailand next month if need be: “The court order says the first date after the 30 November…it depends on when he (the children’s father) can get a flight, because right now I think there are still only certain flights allowed into Thailand.”
The woman has yet to file her leave to appeal the judgement.
-Weekend Argus
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