Japanese 'baby factory' dad wins custody of 13 surrogate kids
- 6 years ago
BANGKOK — A Thai court has awarded a Japanese man custody of his 13 kids after a years-long legal battle famously known as the 'baby factory' scandal.
The Bangkok Post reports that the bizarre case made headlines in 2014, when cops raided a Bangkok apartment and found a whole bunch of babies, each with their own nannies.
Eccentric Japanese millionaire Mitsutoki Shigeta had fathered the babies, and then some, using surrogacy. His semen and an egg from an unnamed donor were planted into nine Thai women, which resulted in the births of 13 children.
Apparently, he wanted a really big family, which is apparently one way to be a 'Super Dad'.
Unfortunately, because of the baby factory case and other controversial incidents, the government cracked down on commercial surrogacy for foreigners, effectively closing off the womb of Asia to wealthy would-be parents.
Thai authorities ended up putting Shigeta's kids in an orphanage after the raid, while he fled to Japan and started the fight for custody.
The court granted paternity rights after realizing the 28-year-old was a pretty stand-up dad, and is filthy rich enough to take care of his spawn.
Shigeta plans to take his now 4-year-old kids back to Tokyo, where they'll get an international school education and be taken care of by nurses and nannies.
The Bangkok Post reports that the bizarre case made headlines in 2014, when cops raided a Bangkok apartment and found a whole bunch of babies, each with their own nannies.
Eccentric Japanese millionaire Mitsutoki Shigeta had fathered the babies, and then some, using surrogacy. His semen and an egg from an unnamed donor were planted into nine Thai women, which resulted in the births of 13 children.
Apparently, he wanted a really big family, which is apparently one way to be a 'Super Dad'.
Unfortunately, because of the baby factory case and other controversial incidents, the government cracked down on commercial surrogacy for foreigners, effectively closing off the womb of Asia to wealthy would-be parents.
Thai authorities ended up putting Shigeta's kids in an orphanage after the raid, while he fled to Japan and started the fight for custody.
The court granted paternity rights after realizing the 28-year-old was a pretty stand-up dad, and is filthy rich enough to take care of his spawn.
Shigeta plans to take his now 4-year-old kids back to Tokyo, where they'll get an international school education and be taken care of by nurses and nannies.