Her estranged husband and father of the six-year-old had picked up the child last Nov 5 as part of his access rights, but has not been seen with the boy anywhere since.

The mother is now worried sick about the child's safety and whereabouts.

Neither the boy nor his parents - who are splitting after more than 12 years of marriage - can been named in order to protect the child's identity.

Interviewed by The Straits Times on Tuesday, the mother, a sales executive, said the Syariah Court granted her interim custody of the boy at a Nov 16 hearing which her husband missed.

The mother said: 'The judgement is only on paper, as till today, I have not been able to see my son.'

She went back to the subordinate courts a month after that hearing to seek enforcement of the Syariah Court order.

Following that, mediation talks were fixed for last Friday to settle the custody spat before a district judge.

Her estranged husband was again a no-show.

She said the judge ordered the matter to be referred to the police through the court's criminal registry.

It is understood the police will take up the case and refer the matter to the criminal courts, which will decide whether to prosecute the husband.

Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.