Why a scam added to a debt-laden couple's woes

Couple's apparent overspending eats into their divorce settlement

- Tan Ooi Boon

A desperate husband faced with a failing marriage placed about $34,000 in an online get-rich-quick investment, hoping he would have better luck with money than with love. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything, as it turned out: The scheme was a scam and the money quickly went up in smoke. The soon-to-be former wife was so furious at the loss of a matrimonial asset that she wanted him to repay that sum during their divorce.

Normally, wives or husbands who deliberately spend large sums to spite their estranged spouses must return the money if the funds came from the family pool and the expenditure was incurred without the other half's permission.

For instance, one case involved a man who splurged on a car and a property for his son after his marriage failed, but he was ordered to refund these expenses as it was done to deprive his former wife of a bigger share of their assets.

In the case of the scammed husband, there was no evidence to show that he had acted in bad faith or that he had deliberately made the investment to spitefully deprive his former wife of a bigger share of their assets.

Bank statements showed that he had withdrawn the funds in July and August 2021 for the dubious investment but the divorce proceedings were initiated only two months later.

High Court Judge Choo Han Teck said: "There is no evidence that the scam was a false story or that (he) was complicit."

So the man did not have to cough out more money for the loss because he did not fall into the category of conniving spouses who conspire to move money out of reach of their spouses when divorce proceedings are imminent.

Many divorces that reach the High Court usually involve large sums of liquid assets such as cash, stocks, insurance policies and savings in Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts, but the couple in this case stood out because in addition to the scam losses, they were up to their necks in debt due to apparent overspending.