Thai Surrogate Mother Heart Ache

[Bristolian]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/4 ... ild-abuser

Gammy's Australian father is convicted child abuser
Published: 5/08/2014 at 08:44 AM

Sydney - The Australian father of the Thai surrogate baby Gammy, at the centre of a bitter dispute, is a convicted child sex offender, Australia media reported Tuesday.

Surrogate mother Pattharamon Jhanbua plays with Down's Syndrome baby Gammy, now the centre of several major controversies, the latest of which is that the baby's Australian father is a convicted child sex abuser.

Court documents show the Australian father of Thai surrogate baby Gammy was convicted twice on charges of sexually abusing at least three girls in the 1990s, Australian media reports said.

The still unidentified man was jailed for three years for molesting two girls under 10 and later convicted and sentenced on charges of indecency involving a 13-year-old, The Australian newspaper said.

After hearing the news, the Thai surrogate mother said that she wants his twin sister returned to her...

The couple on Monday denied her claim and said the Thai doctor had not informed them of the existence of the boy. Pattharamon, 21, then threatened to sue them.

[Nereus]

Yes, it is being reported in several places. It was also reported that the Father is 50 years old.
As I posted previously, there is a lot more to this than has been reported. The father is denying knowledge of the baby, blaming the doctor. There is a shifty Thai "agent" somewhere, that cannot be found, and the mother claims some non-payment.

What I cannot understand is: how did the Australian couple obtain the paperwork required to take ANY child from Thailand? The whole thing stinks!

[kendo]

I thought that how did they take the baby back to Australia ? Is the adoptive mother a Thai national with an exsisting visa.

I don't beleive not for one second that they didn't know the exisistance of the second baby and from the Thai mothers perspective another reason to ask for more financial support being left with Gammy
And ( quite rightly so) this story is turning into a big can of worms.

Kendo.

[kendo]

Baby Gammy may get Australian citizenship




The Australian government has suggested that a child apparently abandoned to its surrogate mother in Thailand after being born with Down syndrome may be given Australian citizenship.

The seven-month-old child, who is currently in hospital in Thailand for treatment of a life-threatening lung infection and will need further operations for a heart condition, has sparked a worldwide debate on the rules surrounding international surrogacy.
Pattaramon Chanbua (21), a foodseller in the town of Sri Racha, is taking care of the boy, Gammy, after an Australian couple took his healthy twin sister back to their home in western Australia.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised for the child via a viral online campaign since the story emerged.


Australia’s immigration minister, Scott Morrison, said yesterday that Pattaramon was “an absolute hero” and “a saint”, and that the law surrounding the case was “very, very murky”.
False hopes
“We are taking a close look at what can be done here, but I wouldn’t want to raise any false hopes or expectations,” he said. “We are dealing with something that has happened in another country’s jurisdiction.” Morrison’s office later said in a statement that “the child may be eligible for Australian citizenship”.
It is unclear if the Australian couple abandoned the child, as previous reports have suggested. Ms Pattaramon has she was asked to abort her son after it was discovered he had Down syndrome, and that the parents would only take his healthy twin sister.


Sorce

The Irish Times.

Kendo.

[richard]

Yes, it is being reported in several places. It was also reported that the Father is 50 years old.
As I posted previously, there is a lot more to this than has been reported. The father is denying knowledge of the baby, blaming the doctor. There is a shifty Thai "agent" somewhere, that cannot be found, and the mother claims some non-payment.

What I cannot understand is: how did the Australian couple obtain the paperwork required to take ANY child from Thailand? The whole thing stinks!

I agree. . Shifty agent and Thai thinking? Not enough information available for us Joe soaps to comment yet

[kendo]

Gammy’s surrogate mum faces charges as Australian parents break silence

http://www.news.com.au/video/id-hhOGhmb ... ate-Mother

THAI medical authorities are threatening to take legal action against a 21-year old surrogate Thai woman at the centre of global debate over the alleged abandoning of a Down syndrome baby by an Australian couple.
The Thai Ministry of Public Health says it is co-ordinating with other agencies in a crackdown against medical facilities and agencies linked to the commercial surrogacy the ministry calls “illegal”.
Thai reports said the ministry is also considering charges against the surrogate mother, Pattaramon Chanbua, a food stall seller from the southern province of Sri Racha.
The ministry says the fact that Ms Pattaramon received payment of $15,000 as the surrogate mother was in contravention of Thailand’s human trafficking laws.
Investigations are now under way by Thailand’s Bureau of Sanatorium and Art in Healing under the Department of Health Service Support (HSS) into the surrogacy service clinics.
There are reported to be an estimated 20 surrogacy agencies, most said to be foreign owned, drawing in an estimated 4.0 billion baht ($A133 million) annually.
Seven-month-old baby, Gammy, is receiving treatment at a Bangkok hospital where the child is being treated for a congenital heart condition. A spokesman for the hospital said the baby was now receiving specialist care and is “in safe hands”.
The Australian man at the centre of the Thai surrogate abandoned baby row has multiple convictions for sexual offences against children.
David John Farnell was jailed for three years in 1997 after admitting to sexually assaulting two young children.
According to media reports from the time, the West Australian electrician, who was then 39, pleaded guilty to the sex crimes and had previously admitted to molesting two teenage girls 15 years earlier.
In the newspaper article, Judge Michael O’Sullivan said his actions had violated the youngsters’ innocence and warranted a jail term.
He said Farnell would normally receive four years for his crimes but instead would be sentenced to three years because of his early guilty plea.
The revelations come as a friend of the couple accused of abandoning baby Gammy spoke out on behalf of the ‘devastated’ pair, saying many statements made by the surrogate mother have been lies.
Speaking to the Bunbury Mail newspaper, the unnamed friend of the couple says the parents are legally unable to speak, but were distressed by reports they did not want to bring the little boy home.
The friend said the couple were told baby Gammy had a congenital heart condition and would “not survive a day”.
The friend insisted they wanted to bring Gammy home to Australia, but were told by doctors that he was too unwell.

[imghttp://resources0.news.com.au/images/2014/08/05/1227014/344700-ce7e87de-1c68-11e4-bf72-fc0acc2f37ad.jpg][/img]

This has been absolutely devastating for them, they are on the edge,” the family friend said, adding that reports the couple wanted Gammy aborted when they learned he had a disability were also false.
A legal battle ensued and the couple became fearful they would not be able to bring Gammy’s healthy twin sister home to WA.
“The biological parents were heartbroken that they couldn’t take their boy with them and never wanted to give him up, but to stay would risk them losing their daughter also,” the friend said.
“They prayed for Gammy to survive but were told by doctors that he was too sick, not because of Down syndrome but because of his heart and lung conditions and infection.”
Farnell and his wife Wendy have denied abandoning seven-month-old baby Gammy who has Down syndrome and a congenital heart disease.
The couple are believed to have paid $16,000 for the surrogate who claimed they took the healthy twin, a girl, but left Gammy behind.
The couple told media today in a statement they did not abandon Gammy and that the doctor told them baby Gammy would not survive more than a day.
The Nine Network reported last night that the man’s wife confirmed her husband had a conviction for indecently dealing with a child under 13 and had served jail time after being found guilty in the 90s.
The report comes as neighbours rallied around the parents, describing them as “very nice, decent people”.
Seven-month-old Gammy, who suffers a congenital heart condition and Down syndrome, was one of two twins surrogate mother Pattharamon Janbua claims she gave birth to in Thailand nine months ago.
The couple is listed as a success story on Chinese dating agency website Zhanjiang Happy Marriage Agency. They married in 2004 in China after meeting eight months earlier.
“(They) were very responsible and sincere to their marriage. In order to know more about the lady, (the man) came to Jianjiang on 22 June of 2004 for their meeting and interaction,” it says.
“They decided to get married on 11 July in China. When the man came again in October of 2004, they held their wedding.”
The couple was not at home this morning and the only sign of life was a barking dog at the side gate.
But Bevan Garstone, 85, and his wife Joan, 83, who live several doors down on the same South Bunbury street, said they were surprised at allegations the couple abandoned their disabled surrogate baby.
They were also shocked at reports the father had previously been convicted of a sex offence.



They’re very nice people and good neighbours,” Mr Garstone said.
“They’re lovely people and they seem very decent.”
Mrs Garstone said she had seen the couple with their new baby girl but had not spoken to them since.
“We knew they had a new baby. They seemed like a very happy family,” she said.
The street where the couple live in South Bunbury, about 200km south of Perth, is a quiet, leafy street in a middle-income part of WA’s second biggest city.
Many retirees now call the suburb home.
But the home of Gammy’s would-be parents stands out. It is a newly painted and renovated two-storey property with giant tropical palm trees in the front yard.
Another neighbour, Mark Spice, said he had never met the couple, who he described as quiet.
“I only knew he had an Asian wife,” Mr Spice said.
Another resident in the street, who did not want to be named, said the couple seemed like “lovely people” but kept largely to themselves.
Ms Chanbua last night said the Australian parents knew of the boy’s condition and asked her to abort the boy after he was diagnosed with Down syndrome in the womb.
She cried, refused and told them she would take care of both the babies if they did not want them. They eventually agreed to take the girl.
During a press conference in Thailand today she said that after hearing about the molestation charges she would “like to bring my daughter back to Thailand”.
She said Gammy’s health was improving and she was looking forward to bringing him home.
“He had a scan today and the results were good. I hope to take him home within the next two or three days. His heart seems to be OK which is a great relief.
“I feel enormously grateful and blessed for the assistance I have received from overseas and here in thailand. The money will all go towards gammy’s health and education and will enable him to lead as normal life as possible. I have to thank the news organisations who have publicised the story. I never expected it to be so big.”
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison labelled Ms Chanbua a “saint” and an “absolute hero” and said the outpouring of support was a strong indicator of the way Australians felt about the situation.
Mr Morrison’s office later said in a statement that “the child may be eligible for Australian citizenship”.



Gammy’s story could prompt the Australian government to look closer at surrogacy laws with the Department of Foreign Affairs already examining practices in Thailand.
Agencies were working with Thai officials on the broader surrogacy issues, the department said.
Mr Morrison said the legalities surrounding international surrogacy were “very, very, very murky” and regulations must be looked at carefully.
“Sure, there are lots of Australians who are desperate to be parents but that can never, I think, sanction what we have just seen here,” he said.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has also said the case illustrates the pitfalls of international surrogacy.
WA Premier Colin Barnett described it as a “very sad and distressing situation” but said there was not much the state government could do.
Commercial surrogacy, where a woman is paid a fee to carry a child, is illegal in Australia.
However, if there is an agreement for the biological parents to cover just medical and other reasonable costs, the practice is legal.
GAMMY CASE PREVENTABLE: Lawyer says government should act



Thai law firm, Chaniwat and Leeds, which says it will cover surrogacy and IVF cases on its website, warns of possible “complicated legal issues”.
“While surrogacy in Thailand is currently an option and a rapidly-growing area of medical innovation, there are a number of legal considerations prospective parents should consider,” the firm said.
The lawyers said Thailand currently has no laws or published case decisions directly relating to the practice of surrogacy, “and in essence surrogacy is neither legal nor illegal in Thailand”. Agencies and health clinics openly engage in locating surrogate mothers and egg donors.
“Thailand’s Medical Council has taken a cautious approach to the practices of IVF implantation, egg donation, and surrogacy; these practices are still in a legal and medical ‘grey area’,” the firm said.
Gammy’s picture has been beamed around the world and has prompted donations of more than $230,000 in 13 days to pay for his future in Thailand.
“Our hearts are filled with love for all the people around the world who have taken time out of their lives to give thought to Gammy,” his donation page reads.
The donations meant Gammy could be moved to a private hospital with specialist care and Ms Chanbua promises all the funds will go to him, ABC reported.
“I will make sure all the money, every single Baht, is well spent for the best of the baby,” she said.
She says even if his biological parents come back for him, she’s now his mother.
“I will not allow them to come to take my baby away,” she said.
“I love him.”

Kendo.

[Nereus]

Lies and damn lies:
...............................................................
Gammy has a fit heart, doctors say

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/health/ ... octors-say

A cardiology expert has confirmed Down's syndrome boy, Gammy — who is at the centre of a surrogacy abandonment scandal — has no life-threatening heart disease as earlier reported, and his pneumonia is almost completely cured.

Samitivej Sriracha Hospital spoke to reporters Tuesday to confirm Gammy has a strong and healthy heart, contrary to earlier reports in the international media that the boy has a life-threatening congenital heart condition that could kill him at any time.

The reports of his supposedly severe condition prompted donations that have poured in from the public. So far, the money raised for Gammy is more than six million baht.

....................>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> more on the link.....
.........................................................................
I just hope the "more than 6 Million Baht" is not handed over to the Thai mother.
Why has it taken her more than 6 months to start complaining about this?

[Nereus]

I am not posting all of this, as a lot of it has already been reported:
......................................................................................
Gammy couple face new probe

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/ ... new-probe/

WA child protection officers have launched an investigation into the safety and wellbeing of a baby born to a Thai surrogate mother after it emerged her biological father is a repeat child sex offender.

David Farnell and his wife Wendy broke their silence yesterday to deny claims by the surrogate mother of their baby twins that they left seven-month-old Gammy, who has Down syndrome and a congenital heart condition, in Thailand.

............WA Department for Child Protection spokesman Darren O'Malley said officers would speak to Mr and Mrs Farnell and see their daughter to determine if further action was needed.

"It (action) could be a range of things, safety planning for the child concerned, in a more extreme case removal of that child or it may be nothing at all," he said.............

According to an online report by the Bunbury Mail yesterday, a friend of Mr and Mrs Farnell had provided a statement on behalf of the couple in the wake of worldwide attention on the case.

.................The unidentified friend said the couple were devastated and described the allegations by Ms Pattharamon that they had abandoned Gammy as lies.

The friend said it was "completely false" that the couple had asked for an abortion when they found out Gammy had Down syndrome and they then abandoned him.

The report said the twins' birth was planned to happen at a major international hospital in Thailand but Ms Pattharamon went to another smaller hospital.

It said this made the surrogacy agreement void and left Mr and Mrs Farnell with no legal rights to the babies.The friend said the couple were not told Gammy had Down syndrome, only about his heart condition.

With Gammy in hospital and not expected to live, the friend said Ms Pattharamon wanted to keep Gammy and give him a Thai funeral.

She said the couple then became locked in a legal battle to bring the female twin to Australia and the surrogate mother finally agreed to let them but the couple were terrified she would change her mind.

"The biological parents were heartbroken that they couldn't take their boy with them and never wanted to give him up, but to stay would risk them losing their daughter also," the friend said.

Mr and Mrs Farnell spent two months in Thailand, extending their visas, but said they had no option but to leave without Gammy because of the military unrest.

The Thai Ministry of Public Health said it was co-ordinating a crackdown against medical facilities and agencies linked to the commercial surrogacy the ministry calls "illegal".

Thai reports said the ministry was also considering charges against Ms Pattharamon.

The ministry said the fact that Ms Pattharamon was paid $15,000 as the surrogate mother was in contravention of the country's human trafficking laws.

[Takiap]

To be honest, I'm still not sure what to make of this case. At first glance, I am inclined to believe that there has also been some serious corruption going on..................


A life long friend of mine whom I've mentioned before on this forum has just been through the whole IVF thing here in Thailand, and it has cost him millions of baht already.

His wife who is in her mid forties and without any children was desperate to have a child. After a few years had passed, and still no pregnancy, the two of them went to one of the top fertility clinics in Bangkok. She was given treatment and later the doctors harvested some of her eggs. My friend had to sort himself out in a private room and emerge with a little white cup. That wank alone cost him 2,000 baht.

Eggs were then fertilized; some placed in storage, and a few implanted in his wife. Despite numerous attempts, they still never got a child. She did get pregnant twice but lost the child on both occasions. Eventually the clinic said they were not willing to repeat the process again because they felt that her life could be in danger, and also the life of the child, should she get pregnant again.

At this point (roughly three years along the line) the clinic recommended finding a surrogate mother to carry their child. They agree to this and the clinic duly found a woman willing to do it. My friend and his wife were responsible for all medical bills, including hormone treatment and so on which was deemed necessary prior to the fertilized eggs being implanted.

They also had to pay the girl (obviously) but the amount to be paid was strictly between them and the girl. In this case, the clinic had nothing to do with it. I won't say how much they paid the surrogate mother, but I will say they paid her VERY well.

Anyway, all went well, and a healthy baby boy was born. Now, the next problem arises......the birth certificate. Family of my friend's wife, along with a "so called" experience lawyer, advised them to try and bluff their way at the hospital. The surrogate mother would simply say she was my friend's wife and (obviously) produce his wife's ID card. No matter how much my friend protested, this was the plan. As is to be expected, the hospital staff took one look at the surrogate mother; one look at the ID card, and left the room, only to return with a number of doctors and hospital admin. No police were called, and after some blushing and apologizing, all was forgiven, but now there was a birth certificate showing the surrogate mother as the child's mother and my friend as his father.

Next problem.........surrogate mother and my friend were/are not married, so friend has no legal rights regarding the child. He then had to go to court to obtain sole custody of the child. More lawyers, more money.

At this stage he was instructed to not mention the truth. Instead, he was to say that he was at a party and he ended up sleeping with the child's mother and she got pregnant. His was applying for sole custody because the child's mother had agreed, and he felt it is his responsibility. The girl did obviously agree and the five judges decided in his favor, thereby granting him full parental rights and sole custody.

All this achieves is a certain amount of security in that the courts have basically given him his child. However, his wife is, in the eyes of the law, a complete outsider. If she wants to be his legal mother, she will have to adopt him. Now, this brings me back to the Australian couple.....

1) Regardless of what the circumstances were, the surrogate mother is the mother, unless the hospital fiddled with the birth certificate.
2) In one article I read that the mother signed custody of the child over to the Australian couple? Not possible (legally) since she can only give custody to the father.
3) How/why did the surrogate mother not question why she was only signing custodial papers for one child?
4) How did the Australian couple get hold of the signed custodial papers so quickly? My friend was in court nearly a year ago and his still waiting for all five judges to sign the papers.



I'm also surprised that the fertility clinic didn't screen the eggs before implantation. In the case of my friend and his wife, all their eggs were screened, and yes, a few were found to have defective genes. These were then discarded.


Anyway, no matter who is in the wrong, it is once again the child that suffers due to the actions of dimwit adults - very sad indeed.


PS: Just ignore any spelling errors or typos

[Takiap]

Lies and damn lies:
...............................................................
Gammy has a fit heart, doctors say


I just hope the "more than 6 Million Baht" is not handed over to the Thai mother.
Why has it taken her more than 6 months to start complaining about this?

Yes, I also wonder why.

[Nereus]

Report: Surrogate lied, recruited others

http://www.bangkokpost.com/most-recent/ ... ted-others

Broker claims Pattaramon paid in full, recruited others

The broker for the surrogacy agency in the baby Gammy scandal on Thursday called the child’s 21-year-old mother a liar, saying she not only had been paid in full for her surrogate work, but recruited other young women to get involved.

In an interview with the UK's Telegraph newspaper, Kamonthip Musikawong of the IVFParenting.com agency - indentified in earlier stories as Joy - said Pattaramon Chanbua of Si Racha used the Facebook website to recruit women aged between 20 and 30 who were in good health and had babies before, to join her in the surrogacy business.

The Telegraph, which gained access to Ms Pattaramon's Facebook account, said none of her online posts suggest she was unhappy. They include pictures of happy married couples and their children playing, and glimpses of a middle-class life, not that of the poverty-stricken food vendor she purports to be. The Telegraph said she posts from her BlackBerry smartphone, and includes pictures of expensive ice cream and clothing. Her mother's food stand also has an air conditioner, which the very poor cannot afford, the newspaper said.

Ms Kamonthip told the paper that Ms Pattaramon had been paid in full to be a surrogate, even though she has repeatedly told the media she was still owed 100,000 baht.

The Telegraph said the claims by Ms Kamonthip cast doubt on key elements of Ms Pattaramon's story of the past few days, which provoked an international outcry at the apparent heartlessness of an Australian couple who had agreed to pay her 300,000 baht to bear twins on their behalf, but were accused of leaving her to bear the cost of raising baby Gammy, who suffers from Down's Syndrome and a heart condition, on her own.

In fact, Ms Kamonthip said, the Australian couple did not abandon baby Gammy. It was Ms Pattaramon, who has two other children, who refused to allow the couple to have Gammy after they pleaded to take him with his twin sister back to Australia.

She further alleged in the Telegraph article that Ms Pattaramon's role as a recruiter undermined her complaints.

"If you have had a sad experience about being (a) surrogate, why did you recruit surrogate mothers for some agencies just two months ago?" she was quoted as asking. "If the agency or parents owe you any money, why didn't you go to the police earlier? Why didn't you do anything earlier?"

Ms Pattaramon later confirmed she had used Facebook to solicit others to join the surrogacy agency, but said she'd not worked as an agent for some time. She declined to comment further.
..........................................................
She declined to comment further.
I wonder why?

[Nereus]

About the only "truth" being reported is that all those involved are compulsive liars!
Both babies should be removed from both parties until such time as the facts are made clear.
.............................................................................................

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/246 ... nvictions/

The biological parents of abandoned baby Gammy have left Australians disgusted at their attempts to explain why they didn't bring him home.

Australians appeared skeptical after David and Wendy Farnell denied they abandoned the seven-month-old and tried to assure Australians Gammy's twin sister was safe in their hands, although viewers appeared skeptical.

David Farnell "hangs his head in shame" over his convictions for child sex offences but says his daughter is 100 per cent safe with him.

David and his wife Wendy have custody of Gammy's twin sister, who was brought to South Bunbury in Western Australia from Thailand shortly after 21-year-old Pattaramon Chanbua gave birth in December.

Meanwhile, Ms Pattaramon is now denying Chinese-born Mrs Farnell has any blood link to the baby.

Ms Pattaramon told Fairfax Media the egg came from a Thai woman and was supplied through a surrogacy agency.

Ms Chanbua says the couple abandoned Gammy because he has Down syndrome, but they have denied this.

"I have been convicted of child sex offences and I hang my head in shame for that and I am deeply regretful and I am so sorry to those people," MR Farnell said in a television interview.

The couple also denied they abandoned baby Gammy.

"We wanted to bring him with us," Farnell said..................>>>>>>>

[dtaai-maai]

A very brief, and rather surprising, story from the Nation: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 41106.html

An Australian same-sex couple has been permitted to leave Thailand with a surrogate baby after background checks by Thai immigration authorities, reports said Sunday.
The couple sought assistance from the Australian embassy in Bangkok on Friday after they had been denied the departure.

Four Australian and American couples were prevented from leaving the kingdom with children born from Thai surrogate mothers on Thursday.

The scrutiny follows a surrogacy controversy in Thailand brought to attention by an Australian couple that allegedly abandoned a Down syndrome surrogate baby.

[hhfarang]

"Interpol seeks clues to Thai "baby factory",

"BANGKOK (AP) — Interpol said it has launched a multinational investigation into what Thailand has dubbed the "Baby Factory" case: a 24-year-old Japanese businessman who has 16 surrogate babies and an alleged desire to father hundreds more.

Police raided a Bangkok condominium earlier this month and found nine babies and nine nannies living in a few unfurnished rooms filled with baby bottles, bouncy chairs, play pens and diapers. They have since identified Mitsutoki Shigeta as the father of those babies — and seven others."

Full story here: http://www.mail.com/int/news/world/3055 ... ge-hero1-8