FORMER Neighbours star Eliza Szonert has snatched back her son during a dramatic custody dispute with her ex-partner in Malaysia.
Melbourne-based Szonert, 41, travelled to Kuala Lumpur with her son last week to visit the father of her child, Australian businessman and accomplished musician Ashley Crick.
But Ms Szonert has allegedly been stuck in the capital for the past week, following a dispute with Mr Crick.
Ms Szonert’s mother Kay told Fairfaxthe pair had a falling out and the actor was asked to leave Mr Cricks’s apartment — without her passport or her son.
But footage released by Szonert overnight shows the actress confronting Mr Crick in a Malaysian restaurant, accompanied by two burly men, before grabbing her son in her arms and carrying him away.
Mr Crick does not appear to resist.
Ms Szonert has reportedly been working with a child recovery agency in Malaysia.
She said in a statement to the media she had “safely recovered my child”.
But the drama is not completely over for the former star.
Ms Szonert is believed to be still without her passport — or that of her son — and has called on the Australian government o help her get home.
“I’m worried for her wellbeing,” her mother Kay told Fairfax.
“I’m amazed that she has been coping as well as she has. I don’t know for how long, but she doesn’t want to go home without her son.”
She said her daughter had sought assistance from the Australian embassy.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was providing consular assistance to a woman in Kuala Lumpur but could not divulge further details for privacy reasons.
Ms Szonert starred in Neighbours as Danni Stark from 1993 to 1996.
She has also appeared in feature film The Dish, and played Trish Moran in Underbelly.
Fairfax reported that Mr Crick — who is an international skydiving champion — works in Malaysia as the chief technology officer at iflix, a subscription video online platform being rolled out throughout Asia.
Mr Crick has declined to comment.
ncG1vNJzZmimlazAb6%2FOpmWarV%2Bhtqex0q2wpZ1fpa6zsc2toKefX6C2pb%2BOp6atZaeewam71K1kprFdqLyvecWoqaadomK7prXGoZmoraKoerTAwKtkrKyilrulscNmpq%2Bdoqiyor%2BMoqVmmpmpwaa%2BjJysrKyfmcZusMisp66slWS7psPSZqqtp6KufKeylG%2BYnZqUl35yscKfm2lqkmqDca2YaZiammSYsqWC