SINGAPORE: A 67-year-old man turned to the court in an attempt to revoke his spousal maintenance obligations, saying that he had been retrenched and was of advanced age.
Mr Moey Park Moon who, from January 2013, had to pay his ex-wife Leong Yim Ling S$4,000 (about US$3,100) a month for spousal maintenance, among other obligations, said that this would cost him at least S$1.2 million over the next 20 years.
His living expenses would amount to about S$494,000 in that same period, and he urged the court to consider that Ms Leong had enough money for her own retirement and had not sought any form of employment.
In a judgment released on Tuesday (Mar 17), Justice Pang Khang Chau dismissed Mr Moey’s application, but converted his periodic maintenance obligations to an order for a lump-sum maintenance of S$364,800.
Mr Moey is appealing against this decision.
THE CASE
Mr Moey married Ms Leong in 1984 and the couple had a son 10 years later. They filed for divorce in 2009, with final judgment granted in 2013.
As part of the divorce, Mr Moey was given maintenance obligations towards his ex-wife. which included spousal maintenance of S$4,000 a month from January 2013. This was later varied to become S$5,150 a month, including a base sum of S$4,000, as well as S$300 a month for travel and S$850 for medical, dental and optical expenses.
Justice Pang noted that this case was the latest episode in “an acrimonious relationship that has seen the parties face off in numerous contested proceedings before the courts in the decade or so following the end of their marriage”.
This application was Mr Moey’s third try at seeking a variation of his spousal maintenance obligations, the judge noted.
In past proceedings, Mr Moey had originally offered to pay a lump sum in maintenance but withdrew this offer because his income had “fallen substantially”. He claimed that his ex-wife’s alleged harassment had contributed significantly to the loss of his job.
He was previously the managing director of Marsh (Singapore), an insurance broker and risk advisory firm, earning about S$37,000 monthly. He also used to be a senior risk engineer with insurance company HDI Global SE, earning a monthly salary of around S$17,500.
However, he claimed that he has since been retrenched and relies on savings and investments for his old age. He said that he had extended his employment a few times but could not do so further as his employer was unwilling to re-employ him “for his own health and safety” and for the company’s insurance liability exposure.
He stopped working in late 2024.
