The adult daughter of baby Gammy’s Australian father has come out in support of her dad, saying he will be a wonderful father to Gammy’s twin sister Pipah.
Jane Farnell’s move comes just days after the Western Australian couple at the centre of the surrogacy scandal, David and Wendy Farnell, told 60 Minutes they fled Thailand without their son because they were focused on saving their baby girl, after their Thai surrogate threatened to take her if they didn’t leave Gammy behind.
Related: Gammy’s parents: ‘We didn’t abandon him’
Jane told the Bunbury Mail that she is “one of the luckiest people in the world” to be able to call David Farnell, 56, her father and that her baby sister is lucky to have such caring parents.
She is also taking the blame for early reports suggesting that baby Gammy, who has Down syndrome, had died.
“My parents never said Gammy had died, that came from me,” she said.
“The only reason I told my friends that he had died was that it was easier than dragging them into all the confusion.
“I thought it would be easier to say he had passed away, and then have to explain it later on if he came home.”
Related: Gammy’s surrogate mum may face charges
Jane, who was just 14 when her father was released from prison for indecently dealing with three girls in the early-80s and mid-90s, told the newspaper she is happy her new sister will have such caring parents and that her dad’s paedophile past should have “nothing to do with it”.
“Wendy was born to be a mother,” she said.
“I don’t know who to blame because you don’t know what the surrogate mother was told, I would hate to place blame without knowing anything.
“They had been through every avenue to try to get pregnant and lost so much money – anybody that has gone down that road would know, no matter how your child had been born or what disability they were born with, you wouldn’t be able to leave it behind on purpose.”
Related: Baby Gammy’s surrogate demands return of twin sister
Jane is the second of Farnell’s grown-up children to defend their father.
Last week, the convicted sex offender’s son, who did not wish to be named, described his dad as an “amazing” man with a “good heart.”
“I can tell you how good of a father my dad was towards us,” he said.
“He’s just got a massive heart. He’s made mistakes, we’ve accepted it… he’s made up for them.”
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