Rich ‘baby factory’ dad wins custody of 13 kids
THAILAND: In August 2014, Thai authorities stormed a Japanese millionaire’s Bangkok condominium to find one baby, then another and another, until they counted nine surrogate babies in all, each accompanied by a nanny. Playpens and bottles dotted the mostly unfurnished rooms.
‘‘I’ve never seen a case like this,’’ the Thailand director of Interpol said about what was dubbed the ‘‘baby factory’’, after tips led the international policing group to investigate amid concerns of human trafficking.
Yesterday, Bangkok’s Central Juvenile Court awarded Mitsutoki Shigeta, 28, custody of 13 babies he fathered via surrogacy.
The court said it did not find evidence of human trafficking.
Shigeta’s motives and rapid surrogacy raised suspicion from the clinic he used to find surrogate mothers. Mariam Kukunashvili, founder of the New Life clinic, said in 2014 that Shigeta submitted requests for new mothers soon after others became pregnant.
‘‘He said he wanted 10 to 15 babies a year, and that he wanted to continue the baby-making process until he’s dead,’’ she said, adding that he also asked about equipment to preserve sperm in old age.
Kukunashvili said she warned Interpol in 2013 but said her faxes went unanswered. Interpol said it never received the messages.
Shigeta is the son of billionaire businessman Yasumitsu Shigeta, the chief executive of an office supply company.
He said through his lawyers that he simply wanted a big family. He did not appear in court.
Thailand banned foreign surrogacy in response to the 2014 incident, and another infamous case where an Australian couple abandoned a baby born to a Thai surrogate when they discovered the child had Down syndrome.
During the trial, Shigeta produced evidence of financial means and a plan to care for the children.
A total of 17 babies were found to be fathered by Shigeta, including four sets of twins. He also has two children via surrogates in India.
The mothers were paid as much as US$12,500 each to carry his children, reports said. Shigeta fled Thailand after the raid in 2014.
Shigeta won custody of the other four children born via surrogacy in Thailand before this week’s ruling.
Little is known about Shigeta, who has been described as litigious in protecting his identity. After authorities revealed him as the father, his lawyers blanketed Japanese media with demands to not publish his name, though that proved to be unsuccessful.