Australian authorities on Wednesday were investigating the father at the center of a Thai surrogate baby scandal who reportedly is a convicted pedophile. It wants to determine whether his young daughter is at risk.

The man sparked global controversy for apparently abandoning his Down syndrome infant boy, Gammy, in Thailand and taking only the boy's healthy twin sister home to Bunbury, south of Perth - although he and his wife dispute the circumstances.

In another twist in a story that has generated fierce debate over the moral and legal basis of international surrogacy, reports emerged on Tuesday that the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been convicted of sex offenses against children.

The Australian media widely reported that the 56-year-old electrician was convicted of sexually molesting three girls. State broadcaster ABC said he was jailed for three years for molesting two girls under the age of 10 when he was in his 20s. He was also accused in 1997 of another six charges of indecently dealing with a child and was reportedly imprisoned for 18 months.

Authorities in Western Australia said they attempted to contact the couple at their home on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday, but no one answered the door. Their whereabouts is unknown.

Darren O'Malley, spokesman for the Western Australia Department for Child Protection, confirmed that an investigation had been launched.

The Thai surrogate mother, Pattaramon Chanbua, said she was shocked at hearing of the child sex convictions and was willing to take back the boy's twin sister if the allegations were true.

Clinic inspected

In Thailand on Tuesday, authorities inspected the clinic that provided services for the pregnancy that left the Down syndrome infant with his surrogate mother, an official at the Thai Ministry of Public Health said, requesting anonymity as he had not been authorized to speak publicly.

The agent who brokered the surrogacy deal said the biological parents made an offer to take the boy some weeks after the birth, despite claims by Pattaramon that the Australian couple had abandoned the baby after they found out he had Down syndrome.

AFP - Reuters

(China Daily 08/07/2014 page11)