SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Loh Wai Mooi, Wang Liansheng, Petrina Tan and Vaithieiswariy Kumar, Bih Li & Lee LLP
The powers that MEOs have under the new MEP address this directly. If a respondent ignores requests or refuses to disclose information such as their bank balances, salary and expenses, the MEO can contact their employer for verification, as well as contacting financial/public institutions for financial information. This ensures accurate assessment of financial capac ‑ ity without reliance on self-reporting (which may be inaccurate or untrue). MEOs will also prepare formal court reports detail ‑ ing the respondent’s resources, expenses and abil ‑ ity to pay, enabling the court to assess the situation, and make directed orders (which target the issues at hand). The process When an applicant files for a maintenance enforce ‑ ment application with the FJC, the applicant may also apply online for financial assistance in the meantime under the ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assis ‑ tance scheme. The FJC will then serve the respondent with the sum ‑ mons and direct the parties to submit the relevant documents to the MEOs via the newly curated main ‑ tenance enforcement division (MED), by referring the matter to the MED. During the process, the applicant has to provide a computation of the arrears and bank statements to show non-payment while the respondent must sub ‑ mit documents on income and assets within an FJC stipulated deadline. Conciliation sessions Conciliation sessions are conducted by the MEOs to facilitate discussions and agreements (if any) between the parties, so as to resolve matters without parties having to undergo a hearing. This is in line with the principle of therapeutic justice of the FJC. This step fosters dialogue, clarifies financial positions, and reduces acrimony in maintenance disputes. Success ‑ ful resolutions here prevent further hearings, benefit ‑ ting both parties.
If a full settlement is reached, a consent order is recorded by the court. If there is a partial or no settle ‑ ment, the matter proceeds further. After the conciliation sessions, if there is no resolu ‑ tion, the MEO will prepare a report for the FJC for the purposes of a hearing. Hearing at the FJC Where appropriate, the court may rely on the MEO’s report to make the necessary orders, without having to call for oral evidence. This simplifies the court pro ‑ cess for litigants-in-person. If a consent order is recorded, the court may still make the following enforcement orders if it deems neces ‑ sary at the hearing: • to show payment orders and specify an imprison ‑ ment term in default; • a warrant to levy; • an attachment of debt order;
• a banker’s guarantee; • financial counselling;
• a community service order; and • an attachment-of-earnings order.
If no settlement is reached during the conciliation ses ‑ sions and the matter proceeds to a hearing, the court must: • make an order on declaring the amount of arrears; • order the respondent to make payment in either lump sums or in instalments; or • require that the respondent show payment, or specify an imprisonment term in default. In addition to these aforementioned orders, the court may also make any of the following enforcement orders: • a warrant to levy; • an attachment of debt order;
• a banker’s guarantee; • financial counselling; • a community service order; • an attachment-of-earnings order; or
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