THE estranged husband of bank officer V. Thevitthra plans to hold to his daughter pending his appeal against the High Court decision to award sole custody of the child to the mother.
Business executive R. Kannan admitted he is with his three-year-old daughter in an undisclosed location overseas.
He said he will only return to Malaysia when he has been assured of his and his daughter's safety.
Last Friday’s Kannan’s wife, bank officer V. Thevitthra, 30, said her estranged husband had allegedly fled the country with her three-year-old.
Last September, she had obtained temporary custody of her daughter from the Shah Alam High Court but weeks later, her husband allegedly took the child and initially fled to Singapore before Interpol confirmed that he took the child to India.
Interpol said Kannan's last known location was India.
When reached, Kannan told The Vibes that he was taking his daughter on the vacation he promised her.
However, he declined to say where he was.
He had earlier said on Facebook that he had been forced to tell his side of his story on social media. He had accused his soon-to-be ex-wife of abuse.
"I was made aware of the various allegations against me by my soon to be ex wife. While I reiterated my stance to let the Court of Appeal to adjudicate the matter, the (media) articles, harassments and allegations against me and my family are blown out of proportion," he posted.
His version, which the wife disputes, was that their daughter had been raised by his family since birth.
"The child was taken out of comfort abruptly by Thevitthra in February 2023 due to Thevitthra’s inability to produce the missing valuables from my home. When I went to work, the child’s passport was also taken by her without my consent. The child was deprived of a father's love for six months and numerous alienation efforts were consistently made to sever my relationship with my beloved daughter. "
Despite the Shah Alam High Court issuing full custody to Thervitthra, Kannan said his lawyers are preparing for a stay of execution and that an appeal will be filed.
"I would like to reiterate that there are no divorce proceedings till date and I’m still the legal guardian of the child. No laws have been broken. Yes, we visited India upon the child’s request to visit a certain temple she saw on Youtube."
" While I’m aware of the need for a mother-child relationship. I have consistently persuaded my child to communicate with the mother. She is however traumatised and was reluctant to communicate with the mother. I took the child on her own consistent cries and expression of her wish to return to her home during every visitation."
"While I have put forward many proposals to co-parent, it was never well received by Thevitthra. I kept the child fearing for the safety of the child as we had gangsters following us in every visitation and on December 13 last year, my brother was assaulted by the gangsters and her family members.
“Thevitthra’s uncle was charged and convicted over the assault and the remainder of the perpetrators is currently being investigated." – The Vibes, June 30, 2024
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