SINGAPORE – Two maintenance record officers (MROs) have been appointed since August last year to help the courts prosecute potentially recalcitrant defaulters. In all four cases, they dealt with worried ex-spouses who were failing to make payments due to financial difficulties.
Parliamentary Secretary Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim (Social and Family Development) made these updates on Tuesday (April 4), reiterating that these officers are only appointed by the court and should not intervene preventively, as suggested by non-constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera.
The MRO is a role that the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) introduced in a pilot project in March last year to help courts identify those who refuse to pay their former spouses and to impose harsher penalties on them.
The official supports a law introduced in 2011 that allows courts to punish defaulters more severely by helping to investigate the facts of the case and obtaining information about the parties' financial circumstances.
In cases where the ex-spouses are found to be financially strapped, the MRO will refer the parties to relevant organizations for assistance, said Dr. Faishal.
Mr Perera had also asked whether MSF would consider allowing ex-spouses to request an MRO investigation without having to go to court.
Dr. Faishal said: “We need to look at every divorce or relationship issue as a case where we want to see how we can enable relationships to remain connected for the benefit of their children.” It is important for us not to jump to conclusions too early .”
In cases where people cannot locate their ex-spouses and obtain alimony, the MRO can work with other organizations to find them, he added.
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