Malaysian Mum and Son Who Are Banned From Leaving China Are On A Mission To Return Home
They have been 'trapped' for almost 2 years.
By Sheryll Paul — 02 Aug 2017, 06:29 PM
Cheng Chau Yang, mother of her Malaysian-born son, was living in Shanghai with her Chinese-born husband of eight years
One day, when she was away for a meeting in Singapore, she returned home to find that her 3-year-old son had been abducted by his own father.
However, the husband returned the child a week later after he had a serious eczema flareup that was triggered by a case of food poisoning.
Cheng had believed at the time that her husband would not attempt another kidnapping.
However, in July of 2013, Cheng's husband took their son away again
This time, she wouldn't see her son for more than two years.
She tried to obtain her son's whereabouts but all efforts were unfruitful. She was completely out of touch with both her husband and his family.
She lodged a police report a month later but was told by the police that they could not help since it was not against the law in China for a father to hide a child from the mother.
She also asked for help from the Malaysian consulate in Shanghai but they were unable to help her since she didn't have full custody of the child.
It was only in December 2013 that she managed to locate her son in the school he was attending
She was once again in contact with her husband and talked with him regarding the child's return and her ability to visit him. Alas, this only caused her husband to vanish again with their son.
Cheng then filed for divorce in February 2014, but her ex-husband continued to keep the boy away
After a series of victories in court, she had won custody of her son by the end of the year. The court had also imposed a travel ban on her now ex-husband.
Despite her success, her ex-husband continued to keep her son away from her. He had also been to different courts trying to get a change in custodial rights, basically reversing the case he had lost.
The travel ban he was under also didn't seem to affect him as much since both his family and his job were based in China.
In October 2015, through her own efforts, she found her son living in a rented apartment with her ex-husband’s sister, 2,000km away from Shanghai
She found out that her son had been attending school with a fake identity and had missed much of his preschool education. He also couldn't understand English anymore.
The surprising thing was that he was not even living with his father. Cheng's ex-husband was found to still be living and working in Shanghai.
Her son has gone through what no child ever should
“His eczema had flared up ― broken skin all over his body, and dark patches on his forehead. He was weak from lack of exercise, and his self-esteem was rock bottom,” Cheng's sister, Myra, was quoted saying in a report by The Malay Mail.
However, reunion celebrations were cut short just two days later
Cheng discovered that there was a travel ban imposed on her and her son.
“We asked for relevant documents, but we were told it was not available. Until today, there is nothing black and white explaining the ban,” Cheng was quoted saying in a report by The Malay Mail
Cheng appealed against the ban in December 2015. The court then arranged for a supervised visit by her ex-husband, promising that the ban would be lifted after the visit. She was also asked to withdraw her appeal against the ban.
But the visit turned awry as her ex-husband tried to take her son away from her again, injuring Cheng's parents in the process
“The result was my son was nearly snatched away once again outside the court after the visitation, my parents were beaten, and the court didn’t lift the ban. My son was totally frightened and devastated, wet the bed and had nightmares for a long time,” Cheng said.
Cheng and her son have now been 'trapped' in China for 21 months
“I send him to school and then pick him up after that. I dare not leave him alone on the streets and will always hold his hand, I can’t lose him again,” Cheng said in an interview with The Star.
What has China been doing to help?
In an unofficial statement, China's court has said that it would be impossible to lift the ban unless Cheng's ex-husband has the consent to secure his weekly visitation rights. This will only change once Cheng's son turns 18, which will be 10 years from now.
Cheng has promised her son that she will take him home
Her son, now eight-years-old, has said that he experiences some embarrassment whenever his classmates ask him about Malaysia and he doesn't know what to say. All he knows about his homeland is what he has read about in books and on the Internet.
Her family have also been campaigning for their release by gathering signatures for a petition to lift the travel ban.
They have even made a short 14-minute film summarising Cheng and her son's whole journey.
Hopefully the Chinese government will soon see Cheng's plight and allow her to return home
Cheng’s story was highlighted by Wanita MCA chief Datuk Heng Seai Kie at a press conference at Wisma MCA last Friday.
Local women’s and children’s rights groups in Malaysia have also appealed to top leaders in both Malaysia and China to lift the travel ban.
“She has done nothing wrong. The abductions were done not so that the child could spend time with the father, but to deprive the mother,” said Women’s Aid Organisation executive director, Sumitra Visvanathan.