SINGAPORE: A woman sought S$600 a month from her husband for monthly maintenance amid divorce proceedings. The judge, however, said no, CNA reported on Wednesday morning (Sept 11).
District Judge Patrick Tay Wei Sheng rejected the request from the woman. Her name and those of the rest of her family have not been made public.
The woman said she needed the money for her two children in university. At present, she is not working. Her husband, however, is already supporting the children, sending S$800 for each one every month.
The woman had said her expenses every month total S$5,040. This includes S$2,200 for food and groceries, S$450 for apparel and grooming, S$1,270 for travel and entertainment, and a S$400 allowance for her parents.
In his ruling, Judge Tay pointed out that the woman’s lifestyle is hardly frugal, as her weekly restaurant bills were between S$100 and S$200. She also bought items such as a food tray and teacups that cost S$552.
Judge Tay also pointed out that the woman admitted these expenses were “extravagant for someone in (her) position.”
Furthermore, CNA added that the judge pointed out that the woman sold S$300,000 in securities and transferred S$120,000 of the proceeds to her children after she had begun the proceedings to seek additional support from her husband.
He also pointed out that while she is unemployed, she is “not without financial resources.”
As for the additional funds she sought from her husband, the judge said there was little proof that each of her children’s needs exceeded the amount her husband was already giving them monthly.
Also, with the money that the woman transferred to the children from the securities she sold, the judge added that she could have had the S$600 she was seeking from her husband for 200 months.
“Given the willingness of the wife to give such a large sum to the children when she had little need to do so and when the children had not made any demand for such a sum, it was difficult to see how the wife needed any interim maintenance to tide her through the resolution of the divorce,” CNA quotes him as saying.
Judge Tay said that further maintenance from her husband is therefore unjustified. /TISG
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