LEE SEE MENG v 1. ) CHONGKHEEDDEE CIRIKWONG A/L SENGLAI 2. ) Orakarn Kanthong

Case Significance

Illustrates the range of relief on a divorce petition, including the equal division of matrimonial property applied for the child's benefit and the award of damages against a co-respondent for adultery.

This High Court decision from the Family Division at Shah Alam concerns a contested divorce petition together with claims for custody, division of matrimonial assets, maintenance and damages for adultery. The petitioner wife sought a decree of divorce, joint guardianship with sole custody, care and control of the child of the marriage, division of the matrimonial assets, and spousal and child maintenance including arrears, against the respondent husband, and additionally claimed damages against a second respondent for adultery with the husband that the wife said had caused the breakdown of the marriage. The husband responded and cross-petitioned, contending that the wife had behaved in such a way that he could not reasonably be expected to continue living with her. The court's task was to determine the ground for dissolving the marriage, to make arrangements for the child guided by the child's welfare, to divide the matrimonial property fairly, and to decide the claim for adultery damages against the co-respondent under the framework of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 and the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961. At the conclusion of the trial the court granted the divorce and allowed in part the reliefs sought, including the claim for damages against the second respondent, adjusted and allowed the claims for child maintenance and related expenses, and accorded the husband more generous access to the child. On the division of assets, the court ruled that the wife was entitled to a half share of the matrimonial property, and directed that a sum equivalent to the value of her half share be deposited into a savings account for the child, to be applied towards the child's future needs and welfare. It ordered the second respondent to pay general damages of RM150,000.00 and costs of RM20,000.00 to the wife, directed the husband to continue paying the child's insurance policy and to bear costs of the proceedings of RM50,000.00, and made further ancillary orders. The judgment is a useful illustration of the range of relief available on a divorce petition, including the equal division of matrimonial property applied for the child's benefit and the award of damages against a co-respondent for adultery.