Mother who stole into S’pore by boat to take son home pleads guilty

SINGAPORE — She had been granted custody of her son by the English High Court, but she was still unable to get the two-year-old back into her care from his paternal grandparents in Singapore.

In desperation, the woman, who lives in London, turned to a non-governmental organisation specialising in recovering children and a plan was hatched to steal into Singapore by boat to take her son home.

However, the 30-year-old failed in the attempt and yesterday pleaded guilty at the State Courts for entering Singapore illegally on Aug 19. Her accomplices, 38-year-old Adam Whittington, the British managing director of Child Abduction Recovery International (CARI), and 39-year-old Todd Wilson from Australia, also pleaded guilty to illegal entry.

In addition, Whittington pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal assault and voluntarily causing hurt.

The woman, who cannot be named as it may lead to the identification of her child, had been wary of entering Singapore through proper channels as the boy’s father, a Singaporean, had filed police reports against her and she was concerned that she would be arrested upon arrival.

To avoid this, the trio devised a plan that called for them to sail to Singapore from Malaysia under the cover of night. On Aug 14, they met in Langkawi, Malaysia, and chartered a catamaran.

During the voyage, Whittington and Wilson took turns steering the vessel, and they reached Singapore waters shortly after 6am on Aug 19 at Raffles Marina in Tuas.

Raffles Marina is a country club with berthing facilities, but it is not authorised for landing between 5pm and 9am. All yachts arriving from overseas requiring inward immigration clearances must await clearance at designated zones.

At 8.40am that day, the woman and Whittington turned up at the home where the woman’s son was living with his grandparents. Whittington approached the couple with a copy of the custodian order issued by the English High Court and attempted to pry the child from them. A scuffle broke out, during which Whittington locked his arm around the child’s grandfather’s neck and also hurt his grandmother.

It was unclear how the scuffle was resolved and whether they managed to take the child with them. The two were arrested at 1am the next day at Carlton City Hotel, while Wilson was arrested in the waters around Raffles Marina hours later.

Appearing in tears before the court yesterday, the woman, who is not Singaporean, pleaded for leniency through an interpreter: “I haven’t seen my son for more than a year. I am very worried ... (had) gone through depression ... (and am) unable to eat and sleep. I have to take sleeping medication,” she said.

“I am very guilty and honestly regret my offence ... If I am in jail, I am not able to proceed with the custody case and won’t be able to see my son.”

The sentences for the trio will be meted out on Monday. The prosecution had called for an adjournment for sentencing as it was a “peculiar case” of illegal immigration and requested more time to prepare submissions.

For entering Singapore illegally and not reporting to an immigration officer, all three accused could be fined up to S$4,000 or jailed 12 months, or both. For using criminal force on another, Whittington could be jailed three months or fined up to S$1,500, or both. For voluntarily causing hurt, he faces a jail term of two years or a fine of up to S$5,000, or both. KELLY NG