EB v EC: Divorce, Maintenance of Stepchildren - Duty to Maintain

In the divorce case of *EB v EC*, the High Court of Singapore heard an appeal regarding the maintenance of the petitioner's (EB) children from a previous marriage by the respondent (EC). The primary legal issue was whether the respondent had a continuing duty to maintain the stepchildren after the petitioner left the matrimonial home. The court dismissed the respondent's appeal, finding that while Section 70 of the Women's Charter applied, the respondent could not avail himself of Section 70(2) under the circumstances.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeal Dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Family

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment reserved

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Divorce case concerning the duty of a husband to maintain his wife's children from a previous marriage after separation. The court dismissed the husband's appeal.

1.7 Decision Date

14 March 2006

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
EB	Petitioner	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Neutral	Christopher Yap of Christopher Yap & Co
EC	Respondent, Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Pauline Anthony of Pauline Anthony & Co

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Woo Bih Li	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Christopher Yap	Christopher Yap & Co
Pauline Anthony	Pauline Anthony & Co

4. Facts

Mr. EC and Mdm. EB married on 13 May 2000.
EB had two children, A and B, from a previous marriage.
EC and EB have one child, C, born in 2002.
EB left the matrimonial home in November 2003 and filed for divorce.
EB sought maintenance for herself and the three children.
DJ Ow ordered EC to pay $300 each for A and B, and $400 for C.
EC appealed, then withdrew the appeal, and later applied to rescind the order, which was dismissed.

5. Formal Citations

EB v EC (divorce: maintenance of stepchildren), D 603972/2003, [2006] SGHC 44

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2000-05-13	Mr. EC and Mdm. EB were married.
2002-01-01	Child C was born.
2003-11-01	The petitioner left the matrimonial home.
2003-11-06	She filed a petition for divorce.
2004-03-24	District Judge Ow made an order for the respondent to pay maintenance of $1,000 per month for the three children.
2004-11-09	The respondent filed an application to rescind or vary DJ Ow’s order.
2005-02-01	DJ May Loh dismissed the respondent’s application.
2005-05-27	A decree nisi was granted by DJ Thean.
2005-10-12	District Judge Valerie Thean made orders in respect of various ancillary matters.
2006-03-15	Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

Duty to Maintain Stepchildren
- Outcome: The court held that Section 70 of the Women's Charter applied, but the husband could not avail himself of Section 70(2) under the circumstances.
- Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

Maintenance for children

9. Cause of Actions

Divorce
Maintenance of child

10. Practice Areas

Divorce
Family Law
Child Maintenance

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
No cited cases

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Women's Charter (Cap 353, 1997 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Women's Charter (Cap 353, 1997 Rev Ed)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Maintenance
Stepchildren
Divorce
Women's Charter
Matrimonial Home
Duty to Maintain

15.2 Keywords

Divorce
Maintenance
Stepchildren
Family Law
Singapore
Women's Charter

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Maintenance	95
Family Law	90
Maintenance of Stepchildren	90
Divorce	85
Child Support	70
Children's Welfare	60

16. Subjects

Family Law
Divorce Law
Child Maintenance