custody matter

Hello,


I am posting here on behalf of a friend who is now involved in a custody battle with her ex Chinese husband, she is Filipina. They divorced a few years ago and they formally agreed that she would have full custody of their two children, and he would have free access. He is now fighting for full custody and a hearing date has been set for the 22nd of Nov. The judge, through a court order, has agreed for the time being for the Filipina to maintain full custody with reasonable access granted to the ex husband. The ex husband though has taken the kids away without her consent to an unknown location. She hasn't seen her two children, or had any contact, apart from a couple of phone calls, for over a month now. She has gone to the police. At first they said that it was a family court issue, but she went back a second time with the court order in hand and they told her to go to to his home and to contact 999. But since his whereabouts are unknown the police said there isn't much they can do. She has gone to the Social Welfare Department and was told to contact the police, so round and round she goes without any department taking action. In her last phone conversation with her 10 year old daughter, the daughter was telling her that she doesn't love her anymore and didn't want to live with her. This most likely stems from the entire family-n-law brainwashing and manipulating the two kids. She was told by the sister-n-law that the kids are happier with the Chinese family and she should forget about her kids. She is quite distraught and feels helpless. Should the police do more since he is clearly in violation of the court order?? Is there anything she can do to get the kids back before the hearing date??

if the police indeed behaved like you describe, then surely this is a shocking story and they should be doing a lot more. i am no legal expert so really can't comment what could be done, but I would threaten to go to the media with the story.


surely the police could track his family down somehow (rental/apartment ownership, company/office location, etc.)?


me also thinks that in a fair hearing, the ex husband should be in trouble for not returning the kids as stipulated by the court order. that alone should go against him massively.


then again i am no legal expert.

I would go to legal aid or employ a lawyer to sort out the next step. Unfortunately, not being from HK, I am hamstrung as to what should be done as the police inaction may be par for the course here but am not sure.

She needs to engage a lawyer asap, to advance her court date, to force police intervention, or in the event nothing can be done, engage her own private eyes and track the kids down herself. Sorry to hear about this. The husband and his family do not have these children's best interests at heart and it makes me ill to even read about the damage they have done to this lady, and (more importantly) to these two little children. God bless.