GEORGE TOWN, Feb 16 — Single mother Loh Siew Hong has sent a letter of demand to the Islamic Councils in three states to provide written proof that she consented to the religious conversion of her three young children who were raised as Hindus.
Lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind, who is representing Loh, said the three religious councils of Perlis, Kedah and Penang have been given seven days starting today to provide the documents proving she had consented to their conversion.
“If they do not have such proof, they have to nullify the conversion of the three children to Islam within seven days from the issuance of this letter,” he told Malay Mail when contacted.
“I sent the letter of demand based on the Indira Gandhi case whereby the children’s religion must remain the same as both parents prior to the divorce and that consent of both parents are required before the children can be converted to Islam,” Shamsher said.
He said he will file a judicial review on behalf of Loh against the three religious councils if they failed to comply with the letter of demand.
“It is stated in the law that the children’s religion is decided by the parents so if they fail to proof that Loh had consented to their conversion and to nullify the conversion, I will file a judicial review to challenge the conversion and to revert their religious status back to their original religion,” he said.
Loh, who is also Hindu, had been separated from her three children — a 10-year-old boy and 14-year-old twin girls — after her ex-husband took them away while she was hospitalised in 2019.
Her children were subsequently taken by a third party from an Islamic non-governmental organisation when her ex-husband was jailed for a drug offence. This was when Loh’s children were allegedly unilaterally converted to Islam without her consent and knowledge.
Loh was granted full custody of all her three children by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in January 2021.
She was able to meet them briefly on February 14 at the Kangar district police headquarters in Perlis.
Currently, her children are temporarily placed in a children’s home under the care of the Perlis Welfare Department, pending her habeas corpus hearing.
