KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — Muslim convert Izwan Abdullah failed today to temporarily set aside a Seremban High Court ruling where full custody rights over his two young children were granted to his Hindu ex-wife S. Deepa.

In rejecting Izwan’s stay application, a three-man panel at the Court of Appeal said there were no special circumstances in this case and instead, ordered him to pay RM8,000 in legal costs to his ex-wife.

The judges also pointed out that Izwan had breached the April 7 ruling on custody rights. After the ruling, Izwan had made off with the couple’s six-year-old son, refusing to adhere to the court decision.

“Further, the conduct of the appellant (convert) in violating the April 7 High Court order precludes him from making this application,” Datuk Mohd Hishammudin Mohd Yunus, who chaired the three-man panel, was quoted saying by news portal The Malaysian Insider today.

According to the news portal, Deepa’s lawyer K. Shanmuga said the Court of Appeal had taken into account the fact that Izwan did not come “with clean hands” to ask for a legal remedy.

Just two days after Deepa scored a legal victory by winning custody of her two children, Izwan, formerly known as Viran Nagapan before he converted to Islam in 2012, allegedly snatched their son from outside Deepa’s house in Jelebu, Negri Sembilan, insisting he was only taking back custody according to the Shariah Court order last year.

Last year, the Shariah Court awarded Izwan custody rights of his two children, whom he had converted to Islam without telling his wife.

On April 7, the Seremban High Court granted Deepa, 30, full custody of the couple’s two children, aged six and nine, as their marriage in 2004 was a civil union and did not come under the Shariah law.

The police later declined to probe the April 9 snatching of the child as an abduction case, with Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar saying that they are not worried about his safety as he is with his father.

Jelebu district police chief Setapa Yusof also said last month that the police cannot investigate Izwan for abducting the son, as the conflicting court orders over custody rights were both binding on the police.

More than a month later, the son is now still with Izwan.