SINGAPORE: A woman who cited her job loss, inflation and rising expenses has failed in her attempts to have her ex-husband pay more maintenance for her and their two children.
A family court on Thursday (Jun 8) dismissed the application, noting how the 56-year-old father was not living extravagantly while refusing to provide reasonably for his children.
The mother, now 47, retained the matrimonial flat. Her ex-husband had to pay her a nominal monthly sum of S$1 as her maintenance, and S$900 per child every month. It meant he paid a total of S$1,801 in monthly maintenance.
In January 2022, the mother filed an application to vary these orders. She sought an increase in maintenance for herself from S$1 to S$1,875 per month, an increase for her daughter from S$900 to S$1,462 per month, and an increase for her son from S$900 to S$1,762 per month. In total, she sought a monthly maintenance of S$5,099
The father, a sales manager, objected to the mother's application, saying that her demands were "absurd" and comprised 74.4 per cent of his monthly salary.
She added that just because the man's income had increased was not a reason for the court to increase an order on maintenance.
She also found that the mother had previously agreed to accept a nominal sum of S$1 as maintenance at a time when her income was not covering her own expenses. She had been earning S$600 to S$700 a month when her monthly expenses were S$852.
In response, the mother said: "My stand is that the (father) is working. It was he who promised to make money and give me money to spend, not the MP of Singapore. The (father) is also the one who married me, delayed my youth for 20 years and now my youth is all gone.
"It is the (father) who ruined all my happiness and hope in marriage, and made me suffer criticism and ridicule from others, made me lose the most basic trust in people, and made me lose the courage to love again, and made me full of hatred for this world, not someone else.
"Therefore the (father) needs to bear the consequences of his adultery instead of putting the blame on the government."
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sing...rt-bid-3550796