TCE v TCF
Court | Family Court (Singapore) |
Judge | Suzanne Chin |
Judgment Date | 30 April 2015 |
Neutral Citation | [2015] SGFC 50 |
Citation | [2015] SGFC 50 |
Hearing Date | 23 October 2014,18 December 2014,07 January 2015 |
Docket Number | Divorce Court Petition No. 5925 of 2013 |
Published date | 03 June 2015 |
Plaintiff Counsel | Mr Yeo Soon Keong (Quahe Woo & Palmer LLC) |
Defendant Counsel | Mr Ong Meng Hwa William (Alpha Law LLC) |
Subject Matter | Catch Words: Divorce Ancillary Matters Division of Matrimonial Assets Care and Control Access Maintenance of Child |
This was the plaintiff husband’s (“Husband”) appeal against my orders on the division of matrimonial property, care and control of and access to the 2 children to the marriage and maintenance for the children.
BackgroundThe parties were married on 26 January 2005 and there are 2 sons from the marriage, aged 9 and 4. The Husband was at the time of the hearing 50 years old and worked as a xx in a xxx company. The defendant wife (“the Wife”) was 37 years old and works as a xxx.
The Husband filed for divorce on the 5 September 2013 after 8 years of marriage to the Wife on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour of the Wife. The Wife filed a defence and counterclaim pleading that the Husband had behaved in such a way that she cannot reasonably be expected to live with him. Interim Judgement was granted on 19th May 2014 on the basis that both the claim and counterclaim and the ancillary matters fell to be determined at a hearing before me.
Orders relating to the division of matrimonial property, custody, care and control of and access to the 2 children of the marriage and maintenance for the wife and children were made as follows:
The Husband being dissatisfied with my decision filed a notice of appeal on 13 March 2015 2014 against the orders relating to the care and control of and access to the children, division of the matrimonial home and maintenance for the children. I now set forth the reasons for my decision.
Care and Control and AccessBoth parties sought care and control of the 2 children. The Wife submitted that she had been the main caregiver of the 2 children since they were born with assistance from her mother from 2011. She saw to their needs attending school activities and taking them to the doctor. It was her position that if care and control of the children were granted to her, she would continue with the current arrangements and her mother would continue to help take care of the children while she was at work.
The Husband challenged the Wife’s position and also sought care and control of the children. While he admitted that his working hours were longer than those of the Wife and he had less time to take care of the children, he claimed to take the children out whenever he had time. It was his position that if he were to be granted care and control of the children, he would employ a full time maid to take care of the children as his mother had recently passed away so he had no immediate family who could help take care of the children. He also argued that if care and control were to be granted to him, the children would have a roof over their heads as he had the matrimonial flat while it was unlikely that the Wife would ever be able to purchase a flat.
Section 3 of the Guardianship of Infants Act (Cap 122) states that:
“Where in any proceedings before any court, the custody or upbringing of an infant or administration of any property belonging to or held in trust for an infant or the application of the income thereof is in question, the court, in deciding that question, shall regard the welfare of the infant as the first and paramount consideration and save insofar as such welfare otherwise requires, the father of an infant shall not be deemed to have any right superior to that of the mother in respect of such custody, administration or application nor shall the mother be deemed to have any claim superior to that of the father.”
In the case of Soon Peck Wah v Woon Che Chye [1997] 3 SLR (R) 430 the Court of Appeal stated that the guiding...
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