'I'll take the dumb baby': Surrogacy agent claims birth mum said she'd take care of Gammy BEFORE Australian parents took home his healthy twin, as documents reveal his father was convicted of 22 child sex offences

The Thai surrogate mother of a Down syndrome boy abandoned by his Australian parents agreed to take care of the baby after his disability prompted confusion about the surrogacy agreement, the agent who brokered the deal claims.
Thai agent Kamonthip Musikawong's comments came as Thai police raided the surrogacy clinic linked to the baby Gammy ordeal.
Ms Kamonthip, who acted as the go-between for the parents, said Gammy's surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua and Australian biological parents David and Wendy Farnell couldn't reach an agreement towards the end of the pregnancy when it was revealed Gammy had Down's Syndrome.   

Thai surrogacy agent Kamonthip Musikawong, also known as Joy, brokered the deal between Gammy's surrogate mother and Australian biological parents

'We just didn’t know, if this happened, what we are going to do... until the surrogate came up with a solution... we, just like, I was very impressed with her solution,' Ms
Kamonthip, who is also known as Joy, told the ABC.
'She said "I will take the dumb baby but not the... I will take the boy. Like, nobody need to worry.'
Court documents have also unearthed a total of 22 convictions recorded against Farnell on child sex offences.
Farnell was sentenced to three years in jail in 1997 for molesting seven and 10-year-old girls in 1982 and 1983, the ABC reports.

David and Wendy Farnell have not been seen since it emerged they abandoned Gammy in Thailand and returned to Australia with his healthy twin sister

Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua holds baby Gammy, born with Down's syndrome, at the Samitivej hospital, south of Bangkok

According to the documents, Justice Michael O'Sullivan told Farnell he had 'robbed the victims of their childhood' after holding 'secretive meetings' with the two girls in a garden shed, added WA Today.
Documents also revealed that while he was in prison, Farnell was convicted on four counts of indecent dealings with a child under the age of 13 during the mid-90s.
David and Wendy Farnell have not been seen since it emerged they abandoned Gammy in Thailand and returned to Australia with his healthy twin sister.
'To me, someone is lying,' an unnamed friend of the couple told Australia's Seven News.
'I know David until he moved into this neighbourhood. He's a good person.'

Authorities want to speak to Wendy and David Farnell, who got a daughter via a surrogate but left her twin brother Gammy in Thailand

Ms Pattaramon, pictured on Wednesday at Samitivej hospital, allegedly said 'I will take the dumb baby' before the Australian parents took home the healthy twin

The RSPCA was forced to remove the Farnell's pet dog from their home in Bunbury in Western Australia because they had been away from their house for a long period of time

Earlier on Wednesday, the RSPCA was forced to remove the Farnell's pet dog from their home in Bunbury in Western Australia because they had been away from their house for a long period of time.
Wednesday's events were the third time officials had knocked on the front door of the property after two visits from Child Protection Services officials.
RSPCA WA spokeswoman Maree Daniels said: 'Given the circumstances it was thought to take the animal into our care for its own safety.'
The Thai mother at the centre of the international surrogacy scandal has said she doesn't fear for the safety of Gammy's twin sister, who has been taken back to Australia, despite reports the father is a convicted paedophile.
Ms Pattaramon told Daily Mail Australia from the hospital south of Bangkok where Gammy, who has Down's Syndrome, is being treated that although she has concerns after learning of David Farnell's past, she doesn't believe he will harm his own daughter.
'I am a little bit worried but not a lot because they are father and daughter,' she told Daily Mail Australia via an interpreter. 'I don't think that he will do anything bad to his own daughter.'
Ms Pattaramon, who could face prosecution herself, also said she did not know commercial surrogacy was illegal in Thailand.
'I did not know before that it's illegal because when I look up in the internet there are many websites in Thailand doing this business so it seems reliable to me,' she said.
'I did not really know that it's illegal before.'

The animal is loaded into a ranger's van on Wednesday after days alone

Ms Pattaramon said she met David and Wendy Farnell three times after she gave birth to the twins.

She did not have contact with them during her pregnancy or beforehand and dealt only with the surrogacy agency.
Ms Kamonthip, the Thai agent, declined to answer questions from the Daily Mail Australia, instead directing a number of accusations at the surrogate mother.
She claims that before the Australian parents flew back home, they told Ms Pattaramon they wanted to take both babies.
'Why didn't you give the boy back to the biological parents?' she posed to Ms Pattaramon in an email to the Daily Mail Australia.
Ms Kamonthip continued: 'If you have had sad experience about being surrogate, why did you recruit surrogate mothers for some agencies just two months ago?
'If the agency or parents owe you any money, why didn't you go to the police earlier? Why did you do anything earlier?'
Pip Panasbodi, a consultant at CP International Education and Migration Centre, said Ms Kamonthip used to work at the firm but quit to get into the 'booming' international surrogacy trade.
Ms Kamonthip says on her Linked In profile she still works at the firm but Ms Panasbodi said she resigned in January 2013.
'I remember when she resigned she said the surrogacy industry was booming and some American people wanted to get her involved,' Ms Panasbodi said.

Agent claims Gammy's parents didn't abandon her

The dog has been alone at the property for days after its owners went to ground when the surrogacy scandal erupted

This was one of the first photos of Gammy the world saw after a campaign to help fund his medical treatment was started

VATICAN ATTACKS REJECTION OF BABY GAMMY

The Vatican have condemned the rejection of a baby with Downs syndrome allegedly abandoned with his Thai surrogate mother.
Pattaramon Chanbua, a 21-year-old food vendor in a seaside town in Thailand, is caring for six-month-old Gammy, the biological son of an Australian couple who accepted his healthy twin sister.

The biological father, whose identity is unknown, has claimed that the couple were not told about the existence of Gammy, who also has a congenital heart condition and a lung infection.
The Vatican official newspaper said the story, which has caused global outrage, was all too predictable and 'the obvious consequence' of turning babies into a consumer product.

In a strongly worded comment piece, warning that other cases will follow, the Osservatore Romano said: 'We should not be surprised that if parents have ordered a baby renting a woman's womb they will reject a child that is not healthy and perfect.'
'If a child becomes a product to buy, it is obvious that as with any acquisition it must be to the purchaser’s liking.'

People have no cause to be 'indignant' that the couple refused a child that was 'imperfect', the article said.
'In realty there is little to be indignant about- if you accept the logic of a child a as product this is the obvious consequence.'

Pope Francis has lamented the increase in 'wombs for hire'.

She had previously said she wanted Gammy's twin sister to come back to Thailand but on Tuesday said she could not comment on that 'because it is related to the law'.
On Wednesday, officers from the Department of Child Protection and Family Services made a second visit to the Farnell's home in an attempt to interview them.
While they have not been seen since Monday, a spokesman from the department said they were not considered missing.
Two people officers arrived at the home, knocked on the door and left when no one responded.
Farnell has served prison time for sexually assaulting three girls under the age of 13, crimes which his second wife Wendy said she was aware.
They were married in June 2004 after being introduced by matchmaking website Qpid Success.
They had known each other for eight months and Farnell had travelled to Jianjiang for the wedding.
Zhanjiang Happy Marriage Agency described them as 'very responsible and sincere to their marriage.'
'In order to know more about the lady, David came to Jianjiang on 22 June 2004 for their meeting and interaction When the man came again in October of 2004, they held their wedding on 24 October of 2004,' a statement on the website says.
There has been no sign of the Farnells since the plight of baby Gammy was made public last week. Doctors had believed he might not survive a chronic chest infection. However, he is now out of danger.

Officers from the Department of Child Protection visited the premises of Wendy and David Farnell

The Farnell's home in Bunbury, south of Perth, WA, where baby Gammy's twin sister is living

This comes after the Farnells, who paid 21-year-old Ms Pattharamon to be their surrogate mother, claimed they 'never wanted to give him up' but feared they would lose his twin sister if they stayed in Thailand.
A friend of the couple told the Bunbury Mail that claims the pair left Gammy behind because he had Down's Syndrome were false and the Farnells only fled Thailand because the government in Bangkok collapsed.
'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 statement said.
Ms Pattharamon, who is now caring for Gammy, accused the couple of only taking his healthy twin sister back home to WA.
Earlier this week, the couple denied knowing of six-month-old Gammy's existence and said they only had a baby girl.
Farnell's wife has confirmed her husband had a conviction but she believes he is a good man.

In light of Child Protection getting involved Mrs Farnell said she knew of her husband's previous convictions but believes he is a good man

Two officers made a visit to the couple's home on Wednesday

Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua holds her baby Gammy, born with Down Syndrome, at the Samitivej hospital on Monday

But Ms Pattaramon - who was paid a total of $16,000 to carry the Farnells' children - has told the Seven Network: 'If the father is an offender I want my daughter back.'
On Tuesday, the Farnells said they never asked Ms Pattaramon to have an abortion, that they did not know Gammy had Down syndrome and that they only left the baby boy in Thailand because they were told he was going to die.
They claim that because Ms Pattaramon gave birth at a smaller hospital instead of the one they planned their surrogacy agreement became void.
The twins were allegedly born two months premature and the Australian couple said they no longer had any legal rights over them.
Farnell was jailed in the late 1990s for sexually molesting two girls under the age of 10 and was sentenced to three years behind bars.
While serving time for that crime, in 1998 he was charged with six counts of indecently dealing with a child under the age of 13 and was convicted and sentenced again.

Pattaramon Chanbua shared a tender moment with her baby boy Gammy at a hospital in Chonburi province, southeastern Thailand on Sunday

Tony Abbott refuses to be drawn into baby Gammy scandal

Two neighbours who spoke to the Daily Mail Australia said they had been aware of the father's past child sex charges.
'We've known about it for years,' one local said in Bunbury, 180km South of Perth, in WA.
'This is pretty much a street of retirees and everyone pretty much keeps to themselves.'
Another neighbour said while she was aware of the allegations, she had no idea they had a baby.
In a shocking loophole, authorities look at children born via overseas surrogates on a case by case basis, meaning sex offenders can bring home children from Thailand.
To make matters worse, it has been reported by Channel Nine that the WA-based mother used her married name on Gammy's birth certificate but her maiden name on her baby daughter's documents.
The only obstacle the Australian couple would have faced in bringing the child home to Australia is a  DNA test with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This test is only in place to prevent human trafficking.

Ms Pattaramon kisses seven-month-old baby Gammy at the Thai hospital

The Abbott government may intervene, saying that Gammy could be eligibly for Australian citizenship

Gammy's 'dad' has criminal conviction for child sex offences

There are currently no tests to see if new parents are convicted paedophiles and local authorities, apart from in the state of Victoria, do not automatically investigate the parents of children born overseas.
If DFAT is concerned with findings on a DNA test it then raises the issues with the local child protection authority.
'If you are going to a dodgy agency in Thailand no questions are asked,' Brisbane-based surrogacy lawyer Stephen Page told Daily Mail Australia.
Mr Page said if the couple had gone to the United States for surrogacy they would not have been legally allowed a child. There are strict rules in the US when it comes to convicted child sex offenders.
Gammy's twin sister may be able to continue to live with her Australian father if child protection authorities deem he is no longer a risk, Mr Page said.
He explained that the couple would not be able to use an overseas surrogate if they lived in Queensland, NSW or the ACT because the practice is illegal. In Victoria, a parent with a criminal conviction is automatically banned.
The lawyer, who works with Australians who are trying to have children from every state, said he always asks people who come to him for help in going through surrogacy overseas if they have criminal convictions as he doesn't want to 'facilitate paedophilia'.
He pointed to the case of Australian citizen Mark J. Newton and his long-term boyfriend Peter Truong who are currently serving 40 and 30 years in an Indiana jail, in the United States, after they were convicted of horrific child sex crimes.
They sexually abused a boy they had 'adopted' after paying a Russian woman $8,000 to be their surrogate in 2005.

Stephen Page is one of Australia's top surrogacy lawyers and has dealt with hundreds of parents seeking surrogacy overseas. He said their were no laws to stop the WA couple from having surrogate children

Police claimed they adopted the boy 'for the sole purpose of exploitation' and recorded uploaded footage of his abuse to an international syndicate known as the Boy Lovers Network.
He was abused just days after he was born and throughout his six years with the couple.
'They claimed they were wonderful gay parents who wanted to be surrogates,' Mr Page said.
Asked whether he thinks child protection will intervene in the case of Gammy's sister, Mr Page said: 'Who knows what will happen?
Earlier this week, Ms Pattaramon threatened to sue the family, claiming Farnell had visited her after she gave birth.

He had only bought milk for the girl, she claimed, and ‘never looked at Gammy’.

'The twins stayed next to each other but the father never looked at Gammy...could say he never touched Gammy at all,' she said.
Ms Pattaramon told the ABC that the Farnells had cried on the day they collected their daughter from hospital but left their son behind.

She also alleges that they asked her to have an abortion when she found out that she was carrying a child with Down Syndrome.

Gammy’s plight has provoked fury across the world with critics savaging his biological parents. Donations have poured in and now stand at more than $200,000.

Ms Pattaramon says she will sue Gammy's Australian biological parents for leaving their son behind in Thailand

Baby Gammy has sparked new calls to reform surrogacy laws

Gammy, pictured here with his older brother Game and mother Ms Pattaramon, is expected to be moved to a hospital in Bangkok in the coming days

The three of them sit happily huddled together on a hospital bed, Game keeping an eye on his little brother

In hospital on Sunday the six-month-old held onto a creme coloured bear, who looked to be wearing a doctor's lab coat

Ms Pattaramon previously said she loved the six-month-old boy like he was her own child, and has vowed to care for her son

Ms Pattaramon, 21, agreed to become a surrogate mother because of her family's financial problems

Thai surrogate mother speaks out about Australian parents

The Australian couple, who have remained anonymous, reportedly told Ms Pattaramon to have an abortion

Parents refuse to take their surrogate baby with Down Syndrome

THE SURROGACY PROCESS IN AUSTRALIA VS THAILAND

Commercial surrogacy is banned in Australia and it is illegal for people living in Queensland, NSW and the ACT to undertake commercial surrogacy in Thailand. It's also illegal for Australians to select a baby's sex.
Current Australian Medicare policy forbids Medicare rebates for IVF use for surrogacy and to receive surrogacy as a treatment option in Australia the following conditions must be fulfilled:

• The intending parent has a defined medical disorder that makes it impossible or unacceptably dangerous to carry a baby in her uterus.
• The surrogate is older than 25, and younger than the age of natural menopause (52 years of age). This may be increased slightly to 55 in the unique situation of a surrogate who is the mother or mother-in-law of the intending parent.
• The surrogate must have already given birth to a healthy child of her own.
• The surrogate does not have a past history of pregnancy-related illnesses or complications.
• The surrogate has had an established relationship with the intending parents for at least two years by the time of the embryo transfer.
• Neither the surrogate or intending parents suffer from a significant psychiatric disorder that would impair decision-making or the care of the child.

Many Australians have flocked to Thailand over the years because the rules were far less strict. However, the rules have changed this week.
After Thailand’s military government reviewed 12 Thai IVF clinics involved in surrogacy cases they have announced new laws.  
Surrogacy is now only recognised in Thailand if:

• The intended parents are a heterosexual married couple who are medically infertile.
• The surrogacy is altruistic.
• The surrogate is a blood relative.

Surrogacy in Thailand is illegal if:

• The intended parent or parents are unmarried under Thai law (i.e. de facto couples, same sex couples and singles are excluded).
• Any money is paid to the surrogate.
• The removal of the child from Thailand without permission of Thai authorities will breach Thailand's human trafficking laws.

These new laws will now exclude almost every Australian from pursuing surrogacy in Thailand.

DM