Man quits high-paying job, the reason shocks court

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A Singapore family court has ordered a Canadian national to pay nearly S$634,000 in backdated maintenance for his estranged wife and four children, ruling that his resignation from a lucrative executive position did not absolve him of his financial duties. The man, who earned more than S$860,000 annually as a senior executive at a multinational corporation, quit his job in October 2023, just days after his wife filed for support. The court accepted the wife’s argument that the resignation was a deliberate attempt to avoid his financial responsibilities, noting that the man could have remained in his high-paying role until July 2024 but chose to leave for Canada instead.

The legal battle began following the breakdown of the marriage in August 2023, when the man moved out of the family home to live with another woman. After he significantly reduced his voluntary financial support, his wife applied for the Women’s Charter to maintain the standard of living the family had enjoyed during their decade-long stay in Singapore. Although the man claimed he was "compelled to leave" due to a smear campaign at his workplace, District Judge Phang Hsiao Chung rejected this defence, stating there was no evidence of forced termination and that a responsible parent would have secured new employment before resigning from such a generous role.

In a significant legal finding, the court ruled that the man’s "earning capacity" remained tied to his high Singaporean salary until he finally secured a new job in Canada in October 2024. During the period he was unemployed or travelling, the court held him to the higher financial standard. It was only after he began a new role in Canada with a significantly lower net income of approximately S$315,500 that the court adjusted his obligations, eventually ruling that both parents should contribute equally to the family’s upkeep from that point forward.

The final judgment determined that the total maintenance owed for the period between September 2023 and September 2025 amounted to over S$788,000. After deducting the S$154,000 already paid, the judge ordered a lump-sum payment of S$633,916.19 to be settled by mid-January 2026. While an arrest warrant previously issued against the man for failing to attend court has been lifted, he has filed an appeal against the ruling, resulting in a temporary stay on the massive lump-sum payment pending a higher court's decision.