SINGAPORE: Unsure of where to turn to, a young Singaporean sought help online after her mother filed a false domestic violence case against her father.
Recounting the entire incident on r/SingaporeRaw, the youngster shared that her mother filed it on the night she came home extremely drunk.
Initially, it was she who had fought with her mother because her mother had puked all over the bathroom and left without cleaning it.
She confronted her mother about cleaning up the mess. However, her mother reacted “aggressively” and asked her harshly, “Where the heck is the puke?”
“So obviously, I pointed to the places while CLEANING UP her mess. She proceeded to scold me and used a lot of harsh words on me and ultimately told me to just ‘go to die’,” she wrote.
During this point, her father came home from a long day of work and overheard the entire commotion.
“He told her to just shut up and go to sleep if she’s drunk. Instead, she shouted at him and it escalated into a verbal argument,” the daughter said.
Her mother, however, took it up a notch when she saw she was losing the argument. She called the cops on him and even asked for an ambulance, falsely claiming she had been assaulted.
“Cops came and took our statements and my mum insisted on going to the hospital for ‘head injury’, which is literally non-existent because I was in between the two of them and was holding my dad back till the cops arrived,” she continued.
“Also, I have requested the cops to do a blood alcohol test in the hospital to prove the point where she’s drunk and the cops told me the hospital will definitely do it,” she added.
Despite knowing her father’s innocence, she couldn’t shake her worry upon recalling that her mother had filed a Personal Protection Order (PPO) against him ten years ago.
“The reason why she filed for an PPO back then was because she was caught cheating with several men (I was the one who found out everything) and she filed for it ‘just in case’ if anything happens,” she explained.
She feared this past incident could resurface and be used against her father.
“Honestly, my mum is just a horrible woman who decided to cheat just because my dad wasn’t well-off anymore (dad used to be a businessman but went bankrupt because of the 2008 financial crisis) and wasn’t able to provide her the life she’s used to,” she wrote.
“If anyone knows how the standard procedure works or in this case, will he get charged? Thank you everyone.”
“Get your dad to file divorce and leave your mom.”
After reading about the young Singaporean’s dilemma, advice from the online community poured in. Many urged her to support her father and encouraged him to seek legal counsel to protect himself from false accusations.
One user commented, “If you have evidence of abuse, counter file for a PPO and DEO (Domestic Exclusion Order) against your mother.”
Another suggested, “Well, your write-up is very useful. It is a contemporaneous account of what happened. The court is likely to give it weight. Print out a copy and keep it.”
A third user, who happened to be a lawyer, also clarified to her that her father will not get into trouble since her mother had no injury and because she can attest as a witness that no violence occurred.
If she’s still concerned, however, the lawyer recommended her to go to a free legal clinic, such as Pro Bono SG South East CDC, SMU Pro Bono Centre, SCWO Legal Clinic, etc. to obtain some more concrete advice.
He added, “I recommend going for one of those that are “by appointment” rather than “walk in”. Reason being you will be asked to provide a short summary of your case beforehand, and the lawyer will have an opportunity to do some research (and there is a higher likelihood that the lawyer assigned will be knowledgeable in this area).”
Others, meanwhile, advised her to seek help from a Family Service Centre or to cut off her mother entirely from their lives
One user suggested, “Get your dad to file divorce and leave your mom.”
Read also: Praise for mother who hit her son for hitting a cat?
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