Children will have their say in court

Children will have their say in court

SINGAPORE (DPA): Children caught in bitter divorce and custody battles in Singapore will have a legal say over which parent they want to live with in a landmark program starting in July, a published report said Saturday.

Court appointed lawyers will interview the youngsters and write a report reflecting the child's wishes if other efforts to settle the custody question out of court fail.

The report will then be admitted as evidence in a first in divorce cases in the city-state.

"The underlying aim is to give the child a voice -- a voice that can be lost in the fight between their parents," Daphne Hong, deputy registrar of the court's family division, was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.

Hong, a district judge, told the newspaper she receives letters from children of divorcing parents saying, "Please don't tell mummy or daddy".

The children in the new scheme would be eight and above, regarded at that age as able to form their own views. The lawyers, acting as friends of the court, will work on a volunteer basis, paid only a small fee.

Twenty lawyers have volunteered their services.

Hong noted many parents involved in high-conflict cases use police posts as pick-up and drop-off points for their children to ensure the other parent is prevented from lodging false reports accusing them of mistreating the child.

As an alternative, she said "contact centers" are in the pipeline for parents to meet children to minimize risks of false charges.