VWW v VWX [2021] SGHCF 35

Outcome: Appeal dismissed.

Facts

1 The Husband appealed against the District Judge’s dismissal of his appeal as regards his application under r 96(3)(a) of the Family Justice Rules 2014 to enter final judgment notwithstanding the ancillary matters had not yet been decided upon. The Husband claimed that the abridgement of time to enter final judgment was required as his girlfriend, their child, and their unborn child were not Singapore citizens, and would need to show that the child’s father was Singaporean to remain in Singapore, which could not be done until the interim judgment was made final.

Court’s Decision:

2 The appeal for the application for the abridgement of time to enter final judgment was dismissed. In other words, the High Court declined to allow the final judgment to be entered into pending the resolution of the ancillary matters.

3 The abridgement of time for the final judgment is a discretionary order, with equity as a guide. These court may exercise its discretion to enter final judgment even though ancillaries have not been resolved only under exceptional circumstances. Parties who keep their extramarital affairs for a long duration cannot expect to be indulged with a final order just so they can keep their extramarital partner in Singapore: at [7] to [8].

This summary is provided to assist the public to have a better understanding of the Court’s judgment. It is not intended to be a substitute for the reasons of the Court. All numbers in bold font and square brackets refer to the corresponding paragraph numbers in the Court’s judgment.