A JAPANESE tycoon has been handed legal custody of 13 kids he fathered though surrogate mothers in Thailand.

Multimillionaire Mitsutoki Shigeta, 27, caused an international incident in 2014 when Thai police found nine of his biological kids living with nannies in a plush Bangkok apartment.

2 Multimillionaire Mitsutoki Shigeta, 27, has been awarded full custody of all 13 kids

He fled the country after detectives tracked down a further four of his offspring.

The case threw a spotlight on Thailand's notorious rent-a-womb industry, and led to a blanket ban on foreigners paying for Thai surrogates.

He later sued Thailand's Ministry of Social Development and Human Security for custody of the children - and won the case yesterday despite failing to appear in court.

A spokesman for Bangkok's Central Juvenile Court said: "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.

2 He caused an international incident in 2014 when Thai police found nine of his biological kids living with nannies in a plush Bangkok apartment Credit: EPA

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He was deemed the "sole parent" as his surrogates had already signed away their rights.

The barmy businessman has already ordered nurses and nannies to care for the kids in his native Japan.

Court documents revealed that he paid nine women to give birth to his children in 2013.

Interpol launched a human trafficking investigation after Shigeta tried to smuggle the babies home.a

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