UFM v UFN: Financial Relief After Foreign Divorce & Interpretation of Women's Charter Chapter 4A

In UFM v UFN, the High Court of Singapore heard an appeal by UFM against the dismissal of her application for financial relief under Chapter 4A of the Women's Charter, following a divorce in Indonesia. The court, presided over by Valerie Thean JC, considered whether the doctrine of natural forum and the exhaustion of foreign remedies should influence the interpretation of Chapter 4A. The court allowed the appeal, granting UFM leave to proceed with her application, finding she had demonstrated substantial ground under s 121D of the Charter.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court Family

1.2 Outcome

Appeal allowed; wife granted leave to proceed with her application for financial relief.

1.3 Case Type

Family

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Singapore court considers financial relief after Indonesian divorce, interpreting Chapter 4A of the Women's Charter regarding division of assets.

1.7 Decision Date

21 September 2017

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
UFM	Plaintiff, Appellant	Individual	Appeal Allowed	Won	Suang Wijaya of Eugene Thuraisingam LLP Nakoorsha bin Abdul Kadir of Eugene Thuraisingam LLP
UFN	Defendant, Respondent	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Geena Liaw Jin Yi of Ethos Law Corporation Mimi Oh of Ethos Law Corporation Chloe Chong of Ethos Law Corporation

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Valerie Thean	Judicial Commissioner	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Suang Wijaya	Eugene Thuraisingam LLP
Nakoorsha bin Abdul Kadir	Eugene Thuraisingam LLP
Geena Liaw Jin Yi	Ethos Law Corporation
Mimi Oh	Ethos Law Corporation
Chloe Chong	Ethos Law Corporation

4. Facts

The husband and wife are Indonesian citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents.
The parties married in 1995 and divorced in Indonesia in 2013.
The wife was granted sole custody of their three children by the Indonesian court.
The husband was ordered to pay child maintenance by the Indonesian court.
The husband was convicted of physical violence against the wife and children in Indonesia.
The husband has resided in Singapore since 2013, evading his prison sentence in Indonesia.
The wife sought leave in Singapore to apply for financial relief under Chapter 4A, seeking a division of a property in Singapore.

5. Formal Citations

UFM v UFN, Originating Summons (Family) No 101 of 2016 (Registrar’s Appeal No 10 of 2017), [2017] SGHCF 22

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1993-01-01	Parties met
1995-01-01	Parties married
1995-06-06	Parties signed pre-nuptial agreement in Indonesia
2009-01-01	Parties stayed at the Seaview Property
2012-10-01	Wife filed criminal charges against husband
2013-06-01	Wife obtained divorce in West Jakarta District Court
2013-07-01	West Jakarta District Court convicted husband
2013-01-01	Husband resided in Singapore
2014-01-01	Jakarta High Court dismissed husband's appeal against conviction
2014-04-01	Jakarta High Court upheld grant of divorce but revised maintenance amount
2015-08-01	Supreme Court of Indonesia dismissed husband’s appeal
2016-10-01	Wife sought leave in Singapore to apply for financial relief
2017-05-25	Wife’s Written Submissions
2017-06-01	Husband’s Written Submissions
2017-07-06	Hearing date
2017-09-22	Judgment reserved

7. Legal Issues

Financial Relief After Foreign Divorce
- Outcome: The court granted the wife leave to proceed with her application for financial relief.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
  - [2017] 1 SLR 585
  - [2015] 4 SLR 1216
  - [2010] 1 AC 628
Statutory Interpretation of Chapter 4A
- Outcome: The court determined that Chapter 4A should be interpreted with careful attention to its text, statutory purpose, and the purpose of its component provisions.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
  - [2017] 1 SLR 373
  - [2017] SGCA 50
Role of Doctrine of Natural Forum
- Outcome: The court held that the doctrine of natural forum does not apply as a free-standing principle in the Chapter 4A exercise, but considerations underlying the doctrine are important.
- Category: Procedural
- Related Cases:
  - [2010] 1 AC 628
  - [1987] AC 460
Exhaustion of Foreign Remedies
- Outcome: The court held that there is no rule that one must first exhaust all available remedies in the jurisdiction where the foreign divorce was obtained before making a Chapter 4A application.
- Category: Procedural
- Related Cases:
  - [2014] SGDC 132

8. Remedies Sought

Order for the sale of the Seaview Property
Division of the sale proceeds

9. Cause of Actions

Application for Financial Relief After Foreign Divorce

10. Practice Areas

Divorce
Family Litigation
International Law

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Attorney-General v Ting Choon Meng and another appeal	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2017] 1 SLR 373	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the text of a provision is an essential guide to the proper formulation of its legislative purpose.
Tan Cheng Bock v Attorney-General	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2017] SGCA 50	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court may refer to extraneous materials to ascertain the meaning of a provision.
Turczak v Turczak	N/A	Yes	[1970] P 198	England	Cited as one of the cases that revealed a lacuna in English law regarding financial provision after foreign divorce.
Torok v Torok	N/A	Yes	[1973] 1 WLR 1066	England	Cited as one of the cases that revealed a lacuna in English law regarding financial provision after foreign divorce.
Commissioner of Taxation v Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd	High Court of Australia	Yes	[2012] HCA 55	Australia	Cited for the principle that the history of a statutory provision illuminates its context and assists in fixing the meaning of its text.
PP v Lee Sze Yong	N/A	Yes	[2017] 3 SLR 533	Singapore	Cited for the principle that extraneous material on the history of a statute may be consulted to shed light on its purpose.
Agbaje v Agbaje	UK Supreme Court	Yes	[2010] 1 AC 628	United Kingdom	Extensively cited regarding the role of the doctrine of natural forum in Part III analysis and the interpretation of factors for granting financial relief after foreign divorce.
Spiliada Maritime Corpn v Cansulex Ltd	N/A	Yes	[1987] AC 460	United Kingdom	Cited as the leading case on the doctrine of natural forum.
de Dampierre v de Dampierre	N/A	Yes	[1988] AC 92	United Kingdom	Cited as the case that applied the doctrine of natural forum to stays of English matrimonial proceedings.
Harjit Kaur d/o Kulwant Singh v Saroop Singh a/l Amar Singh	High Court	Yes	[2015] 4 SLR 1216	Singapore	Cited regarding the meaning of 'substantial ground' for the purposes of s 121D(2) and the court's consideration of comity and natural forum.
BDA v BDB	N/A	Yes	[2013] 1 SLR 607	Singapore	Cited by the husband in his submissions regarding the doctrine of natural forum.
JIO Minerals FZC and others v Mineral Enterprises Ltd	N/A	Yes	[2011] 1 SLR 391	Singapore	Cited by the husband in his submissions regarding the doctrine of natural forum.
AZS and another v AZR	N/A	Yes	[2013] 3 SLR 700	Singapore	Cited regarding the appropriateness of the jurisdiction in which a pre-nuptial agreement is concluded to determine its validity and effect.
TQ v TR and another appeal	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2009] 2 SLR(R) 961	Singapore	Cited as an example of the Court of Appeal undertaking an assessment of the validity of a pre-nuptial agreement under foreign law.
N v N (Foreign divorce: financial relief)	N/A	Yes	[1997] 1 FLR 900	England	Cited regarding the issue of forum shopping and the court's consideration of pre-nuptial agreements in Part III applications. Overruled in Agbaje regarding the need to demonstrate hardship or injustice.
Traversa v Freddi	N/A	Yes	[2011] 2 FLR 272	England	Cited regarding the existence of a pre-nuptial agreement does not by itself preclude an application for relief in Singapore.
Granatino v Radmacher (formerly Granatino)	N/A	Yes	[2011] 1 AC 534	United Kingdom	Cited as precedent to give significant weight to the separate property regime in Italy.
TMO v TMP	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2017] 1 SLR 585	Singapore	Cited regarding the availability and practical effectiveness of a foreign remedy and the unenforceability of a foreign order for the division of assets located in Singapore.
Cai Xiao Mei v Zhang ShaoJi	District Court	Yes	[2014] SGDC 132	Singapore	Cited regarding the principle that the court will not grant leave to an applicant who chooses not to apply for relief in a foreign court in the hope of obtaining a more favorable award elsewhere.
ABX v ABY and others	High Court	Yes	[2014] 2 SLR 969	Singapore	Cited regarding conflicting High Court authorities on whether a court in Chapter 4A proceedings has the power to determine the interests of a third party in a property.
UDA v UDB and another	High Court	Yes	[2017] SGHCF 16	Singapore	Cited regarding conflicting High Court authorities on whether a court in Chapter 4A proceedings has the power to determine the interests of a third party in a property.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Women’s Charter (Cap 353, 2009 Rev Ed) Part X Chapter 4A	Singapore
Interpretation Act (Cap 1, 2002 Rev Ed)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Chapter 4A
Financial Relief
Foreign Divorce
Matrimonial Asset
Natural Forum
Exhaustion of Remedies
Substantial Ground
Appropriate Forum
Pre-nuptial Agreement
Forum Shopping
Comity of Nations

15.2 Keywords

family law
divorce
financial relief
foreign divorce
singapore
women's charter
chapter 4a
matrimonial assets

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Family Law	95
Financial relief after foreign divorce	80
Ancillary powers of court	75
Private International Law	70
Statutory Interpretation	60
Jurisdiction	50
Constitutional Law	10

16. Subjects

Family Law
Divorce
Conflict of Laws
Statutory Interpretation