WOMEN'S CHARTER (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Acting Minister for Social Affairs (Dr Ahmad Mattar): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The main amendments in the Bill before the House deal with divorce. Other amendments deal with maintenance provisions for wives and children and with offences relating to women and girls. Opportunity has also been taken to amend certain sections of the Act to remove anomalies which have been observed in applying the law since its inception in 1961 and to improve administrative procedures.

Clauses 2 to 12 of the Bill provide for the renaming of the certificate for marriage issued by the Registrar to marriage licence. This will remove the confusion existing now between the certificate of marriage issued to couples after their marriage has been solemnised and the certificate for marriage which is the licence to marry. The licence to be issued by the Minister under section 20 of the Act for a marriage of a minor is to be called a Special Marriage Licence. The language used in the present solemnisation address in section 22(2) of the Act is archaic and not easily understood. It has been simplified in clause 10.

Clause 11 empowers the Registrar of Marriages to compound the offence of late registration of marriage for a sum not exceeding $400. Presently, the penalty prescribed under section 33 for the offence of late registration is one ,year's imprisonment or a fine of $1,000, or both. This penalty, I feel, is unduly harsh.

Under the existing law, any married woman may apply to a District or Magistrate Court for her husband to make a monthly allowance for her children and herself under certain circumstances, e.g. if he has deserted her, is living in adultery with another woman or is a habitual drunkard. An additional clause has been included in the Bill which provides a husband with a defence against such a claim for maintenance by his wife in a District or Magistrate Court if he can prove that she has committed adultery or that she has deserted him.

The existing procedures for the enforcement of a maintenance order in favour of a wife and child have been revised. Provisions to expedite the enforcement of maintenance orders made by the High Court and to make such proceedings less expensive for the wife or divorced wife have been introduced in the Bill, Clause 14 allows a District Court to enforce a maintenance order made by the High Court, and clause 15 enables the District Court to make an attachment of earnings order to secure payments which the defendant is required to make under a maintenance order made by the High Court. The defendant is also required to inform the Court which made an attachment of earnings order against him of any changes in his employment and earnings.

Clause 17 of the Bill repeals and re-enacts Part IX of the Women's Charter which deals with divorce. Under the existing law, divorce is only granted when the petitioner proves that the erring spouse has committed a matrimonial offence such as adultery, desertion or cruelty. Parties to a marriage, however, have no difficulty in securing a divorce by collusion and by fabricating evidence. There is thus a cynical disrespect for the law and the institution of marriage. When the petition is contested, the system leads to unnecessary bitterness and has harmful effects on the children. We have studied law reforms in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, and in all these countries the "fault" concept of divorce has been abandoned in favour of the principle of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.

The Bill before the House introduces new grounds for the dissolution of marriage, for divorce, judicial separation and for a decree of nullity of marriage. Two main changes are proposed. The first is that a couple can jointly petition for a divorce by mutual consent, provided they have been married for at least three years. The second change is that, where one party petitions for a divorce, it is necessary to prove that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. The grounds for establishing that a marriage has broken down irretrievably are similar to those provided in the existing Act, e.g., adultery, cruelty, desertion, etc. But the principle to be satisfied is that the petitioner finds it intolerable or cannot reasonably be expected to live with the defendant. Other proposed changes of the grounds for divorce are:-

(a) the reduction in the desertion period from three to two years:

(b) the reduction of the period of separation from seven to three years if the respondent consents to the divorce; and

(c) the reduction in the period of separation from seven to four years if the petition is contested.

These proposed changes are necessary to meet the prevailing social mores in Singapore. The amendment will allow for the termination of a marriage with minimum bitterness. It simplifies divorce proceedings and will be less costly to all parties concerned.

While a marriage may be dissolved when it has irretrievably broken down, some constraints have been provided.

Petitions for divorce will normally not be entertained within three years of marriage. Section 84 re-enacts the repealed provisions of the Women's Charter requiring the court, in which a petition for divorce or judicial separation has been instituted, to give consideration to the possibility of a reconciliation of the parties, and either to interview the parties separately himself or to nominate a Conciliation Officer to endeavour to effect a reconciliation. The interests of the children of the marriage who may be affected by the divorce may also be taken into account by the Judge in the divorce proceedings.

Amendments have also been made to Part X of the Women's Charter which deals with offences against women and girls. Clause 18 of the Bill seeks to make it an offence for any person to detain a woman or girl against her will on any premises with the intention that she may have carnal connection, except by way of marriage, with any male person. The Bill also specifies offences relating to unlawful sexual intercourse. It is an offence for a person in charge of any premises to permit a girl under the age of 16 years or a mental defective to use his premises for sexual intercourse. An offence will also be committed if any person causes or encourages the prostitution of, any unlawful intercourse with, or indecent assault on, a girl under 16 years for whom he is responsible. Another amendment provides that a place is used as a brothel or a place of assignation if any evidence to that effect is given by a police officer not below the rank of Sergeant.

Clause 22 proposes to amend section 138 to prohibit any newspaper report on any proceedings under Part X of the Women's Charter from revealing the name or address of any woman or girl in respect of whom the offence is alleged to have been committed, or the name or address of any witness, or the particulars of any evidence given in such proceedings which may lead to the identification of such woman or girl. Provisions in the new Bill also provide for the Director of Social Welfare to detain any woman or girl in need of protection in a place of safety for such period as the Director may determine, even though the lawful guardian of such girl has refused to give his consent for her detention.

Finally, clause 26 contains provisions to allow petitions presented before the date of commencement of the Women's Charter (Amendment) Act 1979 to be heard. It also provides that collusion is no longer a bar to relief in matrimonial proceedings.

As the changes recommended are extensive, I therefore propose to refer the Bill to a Select Committee so that it can be examined in greater detail.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Resolved,

"That the Women's Charter (Amendment) Bill be committed to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and seven Members to be nominated by the Committee of Selection." - [Dr Ahmad Mattar].