PETALING JAYA, May 29 —The Muslim man who abducted his six-year-old son despite losing custody rights in the civil court has missed the deadline to return the child, lawyer Joanne Leong said today.

Leong, who represents Hindu mother Deepa Subramaniam, said Izwan Abdullah’s lawyers had yet to contact her by 2.40pm today.

She said Izwan’s lawyers had also not contacted Deepa or the advocacy group Women's Aid Organisation (WAO).

“We do not know when they are going to comply with this order, because as of now, there is no compliance of both the recovery order and custody order,” she said.

On April 7, Deepa won full custody rights of her two young children at the Seremban High Court.

Just two days later Izwan snatched the child from Deepa.

The same court granted Deepa a recovery order on May 21, compelling Izwan to return the child to his ex-wife.

The order also compels the police to track and return the child to his mother and inaction could mean that police have violated the court’s decision, the advocacy group said.

If Izwan does not return the child, Deepa could file for contempt of court  against either Izwan or the police, or both, Leong said, adding that she will seek instructions from her client on the matter.

Leong said Izwan has appealed against both the custody and the recovery orders, but the court has yet to fix hearing dates.

Izwan has defended his actions by pointing to a Shariah court order last year, which granted him custody of the two children he had converted to Islam without his wife’s consent.

Last month, the police said Izwan had not abducted the child, saying they were bound by the conflicting custody orders in the conventional and Shariah courts.

According to the WAO which held the joint press conference with Deepa and Leong, the police received  the recovery order last week.

Police have said they are seeking legal advice from the Attorney-General's Chambers on the conflicting jurisdictions, WAO said today.

WAO also stressed today that Deepa was just one of many cases in the country, highlighting past calls for law reform to ensure that non-Muslim women can rely on their civil law rights even after their husbands convert to Islam.

“It is crucial to note that we are not asking for the introduction of new rights. These are simply existing rights that need to be upheld and safeguarded,” it said.