Woman fails in bid to make rich ex-hubby pay $30k a month in child support

A woman tried to make her wealthy former husband pay a lot more for their two young sons by applying to increase monthly child support from $4,000 to more than $30,000.

- Tan Ooi Boon

But her application was shot down by the High Court, which found no basis as to why two children, aged 10 and 12, would need to incur expenses averaging $15,000 each every month.

High Court Judge Choo Han Teck said: "When wealthy parents wish to spoil their children with expensive toys and feed them Michelin-starred meals, they can do that of their own accord."

Normally, when there is a dispute, the courts will determine what maintenance is reasonable and adequate for the children's needs, not what the parents want to have or what the children would like to have.

The couple, who are in their 40s, were married for only about three years when they divorced in 2015. Their current job statuses were not disclosed - the husband used to be a managing director in an energy company while the wife worked as a lawyer.

When he was a young man, the husband had already inherited substantial assets from his father. When his mother died in 2014, he and his sister became beneficiaries of a trust that held cash and properties, which were then valued at more than $50 million.