WOMEN'S CHARTER (Court order of maintenance/alimony)

Mr Ho See Beng asked the Minister for Social Affairs if he will consider introducing legislation to amend the Women's Charter so that no order of maintenance or alimony will be made by the court if the husband commits no matrimonial offence and the divorce is on the ground of seven years' separation.

Mr Chan Chee Seng (for the Minister for Social Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, when any decree absolute for divorce is made by a Court, the Court has power to make, if it thinks fit, an order that the husband pays to the wife a gross sum of money or an annual sum for any term not exceeding her life. In making such an order of alimony, the Court wilt have regard to the wife's property, if any, to the ability of the husband and to the conduct of the parties. The Court also has power to make an order, if it thinks fit, on the husband for payment to the wife during their joint lives of such monthly sum for her maintenance and support as the Court thinks reasonable. The order for maintenance may be either in addition to or instead of an order of alimony. In making an order of maintenance or alimony, the Court is guided by equitable principles. In general, a Court does not make an order in favour of a guilty wife who is responsible for the break-up of the marriage.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the application by a wife, upon divorce, for the payment of alimony or maintenance is decided according to the merits of each individual case. The hon. Member for Khe Bong is suggesting that the law be changed so that we take away the jurisdiction of the Court to grant alimony or maintenance simply because the parties are divorced on the ground that they had been living apart for a period of seven years and the husband had committed no matrimonial offence. The law, as it stands, enables the Court to exercise its discretion after examining the circumstances of each case, and it is undesirable to amend the law to introduce such an inflexible rule.

Mr Ho See Beng: Sir, if the husband had not committed any matrimonial offence during the seven years that both parties were separated, why should the husband pay alimony to the wife on a decree of divorce?

Mr Chan Chee Song: Sir, the Court will decide on that.