A Canadian man who quit his high-paying job in Singapore after his estranged wife asked for a large monthly upkeep has been ordered by a family court to pay almost S$634,000 in retroactive support for his wife and four children.
The man, who was making more than S$860,000 (approximately ₹6 crores) per year as a senior executive in a multinational company in Singapore, resigned in October 2023 and shortly after returned to Canada as maintenance case was initiated. However, the court decided that his quitting did not free him from financial responsibilities.
As reported by The Straits Times, the court found in favor of the wife’s argument that the husband had intentionally opted out of his highly paid job to cut down on his maintenance payment. It held that his earning capacity should continue to be assessed based on his Singapore salary until he secured new employment in Canada at a lower pay.
Court records show that the couple, both Canadian nationals, moved to Singapore in December 2013 with their four children, who attended international schools. The spouse was a housewife holding a dependant’s visa. The husband in August 2023 left the conjoint house and started sharing the residence with another woman.
After the break-up, he first proposed a maintenance of S$20,000 (approximately ₹15.5 lakh) per month plus rent and school-related expenses payments. This sum was ultimately cut back to S$11,000 a month. After the payments were scaled back, the woman filed a maintenance application under Singapore’s Women’s Charter on October 2, 2023.
Only a few days after, on October 9, the guy quit his position in Singapore although he was still allowed to stay in the position until July 2024 according to generous expat conditions. He moved out of Singapore in January 2024 which postponed the court cases, did not go to a planned hearing, and as a consequence, an arrest warrant was issued which was only removed in December 2024 after he attended the hearing via video link.
In April 2024, the wife filed for divorce.
The person alleged that the rumors regarding his divorce at the office were the reason for his resignation and that he had to do it out of discomfort. The court however dismissed the reasoning saying there was no proof that the employer had plans to dismiss the worker and that the discomfort did not make the resignation involuntary.
In his ruling, Judge Phang made it clear that the factors to be used in arriving at a maintenance assessment must include not only current income but also earning capacity, assets and total financial resources. He ruled that until the man began a new job in Canada in October 2024, his earning capacity remained tied to his Singapore salary.
Only after he started work in Canada, earning an estimated C$341,000 annually after tax, did the court recognise a genuine reduction in income. Starting from October 2024, the judge ruled that the father and the mother would have to pay the same amount for the keeping of the family, taking into consideration that the wife was qualified and had the financial means to get a job.
The ruling of the court was that the husband did not provide adequate support to his family since September 2023 and nothing was given during the period from December 2023 to March 2025. The overall maintenance during the time from September 2023 to September 2025 was calculated to be S$788,300. After accounting for payments already made, the outstanding amount of S$633,916.19 was ordered to be paid as a lump sum by January 15, 2026.
The man has appealed the ruling, and enforcement of the lump-sum payment has been stayed pending the outcome of the appeal.
