XBF v XBE
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Judges (1)
Counsel (5)
Parties (2)
Case Significance
In XBF v XBE and another appeal [2024] SGHCF 42, decided on 8 November 2024, the General Division of the High Court (Family Division) heard District Court Appeals Nos 75 and 76 of 2024. Choo Han Teck J heard the matter on 17 October and 1 November 2024 before reserving judgment. The appeals arose under section 5 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1934 (2020 Rev Ed) from orders of the District Court Judge, who had granted care and control of the parties' three children to the mother (the respondent) and allowed her to relocate with them to Indonesia. The father (the appellant), described as a 38-year-old university lecturer in Singapore, appealed against both orders. The three children, referred to as A, B and C, were aged eight, six and four; the parties had married in November 2015, and there were no divorce proceedings on foot in Singapore at the time.
Summary
A father appealed against a District Judge's orders under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1934 granting care and control of the parties' three young children to the mother and permitting her to relocate with them to Indonesia, after she had taken the children to Jakarta following a quarrel during a 2022 family trip. The High Court (Family Division), per Choo Han Teck J, found that it was in the best interests of the children to remain in Singapore with the father and his parents, and that care and control should not be conflated with relocation on the facts. The father's appeals were allowed, the mother was granted liberal access with stipulated telephone or video contact and overnight access, the costs below were reversed in the father's favour, and the mother was ordered to pay the father $4,000 in costs of the appeal.
What did the court consider in XBF v XBE [2024] SGHCF 42?
The Family Division of the High Court considered a father's appeals against District Court orders made under section 5 of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1934 that granted the mother care and control of the parties' three children and permitted her to relocate with them to Indonesia.
Who heard the relocation appeals in XBF v XBE [2024] SGHCF 42?
Choo Han Teck J of the General Division of the High Court (Family Division) heard District Court Appeals Nos 75 and 76 of 2024 on 17 October and 1 November 2024, reserving judgment and delivering it on 8 November 2024 concerning the three children aged eight, six and four.
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Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2024] SGHCF 42)