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Surrogate mother wants Gammy's sister returned

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The Thai surrogate mother of seven-month-old Gammy has asked for the baby's twin sister to be returned to her.

Her request came after it was revealed that the biological father has convictions for child sex offences.

Australian Associated Press said court documents show that the Australian man, 56, had been convicted for sexually molesting three girls.

State broadcaster ABC added that he was jailed for sexually molesting two girls under the age of 10 when he was in his 20s. He was also accused in 1997 of another six charges of indecently dealing with a child.

Other reports said child protection services had been called in to investigate his “suitability", although they were unable to confirm this to AFP and police had no comment.

The Guardian reported Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua​ as saying: "I am very worried about my baby girl. I need help from anyone who can bring my girl back to me as soon as possible... This news make me sick. I will take care of my twin babies. I will not give her or him to any family that wants a baby."

The revelations came as the Australian couple claimed that Ms Pattaramon had misled the world over what happened.

The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had hired Ms Pattaramon and paid her AS$16,000 (S$18,600).

Ms Pattaramon claims they rejected the boy, who has Down Syndrome and a heart problem, taking only his healthy twin sister back to their home in Bunbury, south of Perth.

The couple have come under heavy criticism for their alleged actions, which include asking Ms Pattaramon​ to abort the boy.

The Australian couple said in a statement, issued through a friend to their local newspaper the Bunbury Mail, the allegations were false and they did not know he had Down Syndrome, although they were aware he had a congenital heart problem.

“Gammy was very sick when he was born and the biological parents were told he would not survive and he had a day, at best, to live and to say goodbye,” the friend, a woman, told the newspaper, without saying who told them this.

The birth of the twins was supposed to take place at a major international hospital in Thailand but Ms Pattharamon went to another facility, which made the surrogacy agreement void, according to the newspaper.

This meant that the couple had no legal rights to the babies although the surrogate mother finally agreed to hand over the girl, the report said.

"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.

She added that allegations that the couple “ignored” Gammy when they visited the hospital were untrue and they had bought gifts for both infants.

The friend said the couple spent two months in Thailand but due to military unrest at the time felt they had no option but to leave without Gammy.

“This has been absolutely devastating for them, they are on the edge,” she said.

Sources: AFP, The Guardian 

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