Japanese man granted sole custody of 13 children born via surrogate mothers

A Japanese man has been given sole custody of thirteen babies he fathered by surrogate mothers in Thailand.

Mitsutoki Shigeta had the children with women he had paid in what became known as the 'baby factory' case, reports the BBC. The 28-year-old found himself at the centre of a scandal in 2014 when he was investigated for human trafficking by Interpol. Police discovered nine surrogate babies, nannies and a pregnant surrogate mother at is apartment in Bangkok. It was revealed that he'd fathered at total of 16 children in the country. The case was among a number than led to a 2015 ban on foreigners paying Thai women to be their surrogates. [caption id="attachment_298200" align="alignnone" width="594"] Mr Shigeta's lawyer Kong Suriyamontol speaking to the press.[/caption]   Mr Shigeta, the son of a wealthy businessman, left the country but sued the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security for custody of his children. He denied trafficking the children. His lawyer claimed he simply wanted a large family and had enough money to take care of them all. He was awarded the status of 'sole parent' by Bangkok's Central Juvenile Court after the Thai mothers waived their rights to the children. "For the happiness and opportunities which the 13 children will receive from their biological father, who does not have a history of bad behaviour, the court rules that all 13 born from surrogacy to be legal children of the plaintiff," the court said in a statement.