Man Who Took Kids & Converted Them Without Mum's Consent Dies Before Abuse Trial
The cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
Cover image via Muhammad Nagahswaran Muniandy, 38, the former husband of Loh Siew Hong and the man at the centre of a high-profile custody and unilateral religious conversion case, has died, FMT reported
Loh's lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind confirmed that Nagahswaran died yesterday, 10 June.
The cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
In 2019, Nagahswaran had taken his and Loh's three children to Perlis and converted them to Islam without Loh's consent, despite an earlier court order granting her interim custody in December that year.
Nagahswaran also had a criminal record, including time served in a Kelantan prison for a drug-related offence, a detail Loh highlighted during their custody battle.
She was later awarded full custody in March 2021.
Loh had left Nagahswaran in 2019, citing domestic abuse. Their divorce was finalised in September 2021.
Last year, he was charged with allegedly causing grievous hurt to Loh in 2019. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. The trial was scheduled to begin in September this year.
In early 2022, she filed a habeas corpus application to regain custody of her children, who were at the time under the care of an Islamic NGO
Soon after, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled in Loh's favour, ordering for the immediate release of the children to the Penang-born mother from the care of Hidayah Center Foundation operator Nazirah Nanthakumari Abdullah.
The Federal Court then followed with a landmark decision in 2024, ruling that both parents must consent to a child's religious conversion, affirming that Loh's children remained Hindus.
In April this year, the Perlis state government lost its final bid to reinstate the religious status of Loh Siew Hong's three children as Muslims, reported the New Straits Times.
Loh Siew Hong and her lawyer at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya in April this year.
Image via Sayuti Zanudin/Malay Mail
