WX v WW: Child Maintenance, Presumption of Legitimacy, and Biological Father's Obligations

In WX v WW, the High Court of Singapore heard an appeal regarding the decision of the District Judge, ordering the appellant, WX, to pay maintenance for the respondent's daughter, WW, under s 69(2) of the Women's Charter. The primary legal issue was whether s 114 of the Evidence Act, concerning the presumption of legitimacy, could override evidence that WX was the biological father. Lee Seiu Kin J dismissed the appeal, affirming that WX was liable for child maintenance, as the presumption of legitimacy did not negate his biological paternity and subsequent obligations under the Women's Charter.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeal Dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Family

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal regarding child maintenance. The court determined the biological father was liable for maintenance despite the child's mother being married to another man at the time of birth.

1.7 Decision Date

24 March 2009

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
WX	Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Irving Choh of KhattarWong Stephanie Looi of KhattarWong
WW	Respondent	Individual	Maintenance Order Upheld	Won	Krishnan Nadarajan of Aequitas Law LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Lee Seiu Kin	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Irving Choh	KhattarWong
Stephanie Looi	KhattarWong
Krishnan Nadarajan	Aequitas Law LLP

4. Facts

The respondent had sexual intercourse with both the appellant and another man (H) around the time of conception.
The respondent married H, who believed he was the child's father.
A DNA test revealed that H was not the biological father of the child.
The respondent sought child maintenance from the appellant, claiming he was the biological father.
The appellant denied having sexual intercourse with the respondent but refused to undergo a DNA test.
The District Judge found that the appellant had sexual intercourse with the respondent and was the biological father of the child.

5. Formal Citations

WX v WW, DA 3/2008, [2009] SGHC 70

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2001-01-01	Respondent met the appellant.
2002-02-01	Respondent went to Australia to further her studies.
2003-12-01	Respondent returned to Singapore.
2005-05-01	Respondent went to Sydney with the appellant.
2005-06-01	Respondent discovered that she was pregnant.
2006-01-21	Respondent gave birth to the Child.
2008-08-28	Appeal dismissed.
2008-10-30	Appellant filed his notice of appeal.
2009-03-25	Decision Date

7. Legal Issues

Presumption of Legitimacy
- Outcome: The court held that the presumption of legitimacy under s 114 of the Evidence Act does not override scientific evidence of biological paternity in the context of child maintenance obligations.
- Category: Substantive
Child Maintenance Obligations
- Outcome: The court ruled that the biological father has a duty to maintain his child, regardless of the mother's marital status at the time of the child's birth.
- Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

Child Maintenance

9. Cause of Actions

Child Maintenance Claim

10. Practice Areas

Family Litigation

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
AD v AE	High Court	Yes	[2005] 2 SLR 180	Singapore	Cited for the interpretation of Section 114 of the Evidence Act and the scientific proof of paternity.
Re L (an infant)	English Court of Appeal	Yes	[1967] 3 WLR 1645	England and Wales	Cited for the origin and evolution of the presumption of legitimacy and the use of blood tests in determining paternity.
In Re Overbury, Sheppard v Matthews	Court of Chancery	Yes	[1955] 1 Ch 122	England and Wales	Cited regarding conflicting presumptions of legitimacy when a child is born after the death of one husband and the remarriage of the mother to another husband.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Evidence Act (Cap 97, 1997 Rev Ed) s 114	Singapore
Women's Charter (Cap 353, 1997 Rev Ed) s 69(2)	Singapore
Women's Charter (Cap 353, 1997 Rev Ed) s 68	Singapore
Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap 322, 2007 Rev Ed) s 34(2)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Presumption of Legitimacy
Biological Father
Child Maintenance
DNA Test
Access
Illegitimacy
Maintenance Order

15.2 Keywords

child maintenance
presumption of legitimacy
biological father
evidence act
women's charter
singapore
family law

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Child Support	90
Family Law	90
Presumption of Legitimacy	80
Evidence	70
Succession Law	30

16. Subjects

Family Law
Evidence
Legitimacy
Child Support