MCA Public Services and Complaints Department Head Datuk Michael Chong has been acting in a very unprofessional manner in handling the case of the young couple Sow Kien Siong and Wendy Lim She Wei.
He failed to listen to the grievances of both parties before he compelled Wendy Lim to sign the agreement to allow Sow to visit Wendy’s baby twice in a month.
During the press conference he also carelessly alleged Wendy’s aunt and uncle were suspected in being involved in selling the baby.
Chong’s irresponsible action in the press conference forced Wendy and her relatives to seek help from me to clarify the accusations made by Michael Chong. Wendy has to come out in the open and to clarify that Sow is not the biological father of her baby. She had earlier confided this to both Michael Chong and her husband Sow.
Michael Chong has not only aggravated the relationship between Sow and Wendy’s families, but it has also forced both families to wash dirty linens about each other private lives in public.
If Michael Chong has been patient and thoughtful right from the start, he should have dealt with the root cause of the dispute between Sow and Wendy, i.e. to get DNA test done on the couple and the baby, and not to compel Wendy to sign an agreement to make the issue go away.
As an experienced social worker, Michael Chong should be aware that Wendy and Sow were not bound in a legal marriage because they just have gone through the Chinese matrimonial ceremony, and their marriage is not registered. So, legally speaking, Sow is not her husband. Under the Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976, after the appointed date (date of coming into force of the Act i.e 1 March 1982), marriages have to be solemnised by a Registrar of Marriages.
Michael Chong should also be aware that when Sow has sex with Wendy, she was still under age, Sow can be charged in court and be jailed if we want to get the police involved in the case. So Wendy as a single parent, she has sole guardianship over her baby. Sow has no right to demand visit to the baby because the baby is not his.
As this is not the first complaint against Michael Chong that I have taken up, I hope Michael Chong can be more diligent in handling public’s complaint, particularly those cases involve family dispute.
Teresa Kok
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Malay Mail
Thursday, November 22 2007
Teen father wants joint DNA tests
“BRING on the DNA test, but there is no way it can be con ducted separately.”
This was the response by 18-year-old Sow Kien Siong to his girlfriend’s challenge for a patern ity test after she claimed he did not father their four-month-old baby.
Speaking at the MCA Public Ser vices and Complaint Department, Sow appeared furious to learn that Seputeh MP Teresa Kok had yesterday arranged for his 16-year-old girlfriend to undergo a DNA test individually.
“No matter what, I would be unconvinced with the results if my girlfriend’s and son’s tests were done without my presence. I want to see the procedure carried out with my own eyes, so that I would not suspect any foul play,” said Sow, an odd-job labourer from Setapak.
Sow said even if the DNA results prove that he was not the father, he hoped he would still be given permission to see the baby as agreed upon earlier.
This is to ensure his hunch that the baby being sold or given up for adoption would not happen, he added.
“We want another test to be taken, and together,” said Sow.
MCA Public Services and Com plaint Department head Datuk Mi chael Chong said if the issue remained unsolved, it would be bet ter to let the law deal with it.
Chong, with the help from the department’s legal affairs bureau, said he would seek advice from the Welfare Department as the child’s birth certificate bears Sow’s name as the father.
Chong said he felt sore that after helping the girl gain custody of the baby, she had turned her back on him.
The girl, during a Press con ference organised by Kok over the weekend, had claimed that Chong forced her to draft an agreement in Chinese, stating that she al lowed Sow to see the baby twice a month.
“Why are you twisting your words?” Chong asked the girl. “I have proof that you wrote the document voluntarily and I even have it video-taped.”
Sow’s mother, Yen Chau Fong, said she understood when Chong told her that children under seven should always be with their moth er.
“And we agreed to the initial plan for my son to see his son twice a month.
“I was present when the girl wrote the document and Chong did not force her and I can attest to that,” added Yen.
It was reported that Sow’s pre dicament began after his girl friend of one year, with the help of an aunt, had on Oct 19 forcibly taken away the baby from their home in Setapak and sub sequently lodged a police report against him for statutory rape.
The girl’s claims that the baby was not Sow’s came as a shock to him as he had believed her when she said that the baby was his.
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The Star Wednesday November 21, 2007
MP ticked off for her part in family feud
AN OPPOSITION MP was ticked off for turning a family dispute into a serious issue, reported China Press.
DAP Seputeh MP Theresa Kok was accused of driving a wedge between a young couple fighting for custody of their four-month-old boy.
The daily quoted MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong as saying Kok had failed to help the couple salvage their relationship.
Kok was said to have worsened the relationship of the couple – an 18-year-old technician and a 16-year-old girl.
The duo met last year via an online chatroom. They got married when the girl was three months’ pregnant.
However, when the baby was four months old, the maternal family members stormed into the husband’s house to take the child away.
At a press conference organised by Kok, the wife accused her husband of stealing money and having affairs with other women.
Chong said that as a social activist, it was his job to find a win-win situation which would benefit both parties.
“However, it was improper for Kok to organise a press conference for the girl to reveal her private life to the public.
“This will give the impression that the girl is licentious. Her future will be affected,” he said.
Tread carefully, Sassy MP. You are doing a good job and we don’t want you to get into any unnecessary problems.
I wonder what your opinion is on Michael Chong’s handling the recent issue with the 6 lesbian runaways?
It would be interesting to hear if other people agree with his insensitive actions to people’s sexuality.
And sheriff singh – blogs are here for people to voice their opinion – and everyone is free to say whatever they think. I’m sure that Sassy MP knows what she can say and what she can’t.