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Young mistress to pay wife RM200,000 for wrecking 50-year marriage
V Anbalagan-16 Feb 2025, 07:30 AM
A 74-year-old man was also ordered to make a one-off payment of RM205,000 as spousal maintenance following a separation from his loyal wife.
The High Court ruled that the mistress was liable to compensate the wife for damages and costs as she was fully aware of the husband’s family commitments and responsibilities.
KUALA LUMPUR: A 38-year-old woman, named a co-respondent in a judicial separation suit, was ordered by a High Court to pay a housewife RM200,000 in damages for her role in ruining a marriage that spanned five decades.
Justice Evrol Mariette Peters also ordered the 74-year-old husband, who was adjudged to have committed adultery, to pay his 72-year-old wife spousal maintenance in a lump sum of RM 205,000.
The husband had denied cheating on his wife, and claimed to be suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED).
Peters also ordered the matrimonial assets of the couple to be divided equally.
The husband, identified as PAI, and the mistress, anonymised as KAI, were also ordered to pay a total of RM100,000 in costs to the wife, referred to as HAI.
Peters said the evidence, though circumstantial, painted a compelling and coherent narrative of an adulterous relationship between the husband and his mistress.
She said there was evidence of shared residences, overnight stays at the mistress’s residence, shared accommodation in Singapore, attempts to conceive through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and admissions of adultery made by the husband to the wife.
Peters rejected the husband’s defence that he was unable to have sexual intercourse.
“Throughout the trial, he claimed that his ED had caused a complete cessation of sexual relations with the wife and he could not possibly have engaged in an adulterous affair with his mistress,” she said in her 72-page judgment.
Crucially, she said the husband failed to provide any supporting evidence, such as medical reports, expert testimony, or any corroborating documentation, to validate his claim of ED or the severity of it, if at all.
The husband contended that his decision to pursue IVF was driven by his ED and consequent inability to conceive a child with the mistress through natural means.
Peters said there was no automatic correlation between the ability to engage in sexual intercourse and the inability to impregnate a woman.
““The mere fact that a man is unable to father a child does not necessarily imply that he is incapable of sexual intercourse,” she said.
The judge ordered the mistress to pay damages and costs, ruling that she was fully aware of the husband’s family commitments and responsibilities, which made her actions all the more troubling.
“By continuing the adulterous relationship, the mistress exposed her complete indifference to the wife’s emotional well-being,” she said.
Peters said emails between the mistress and husband revealed the woman had actively urged him to divorce the wife, further destabilising the marriage.
“The mistress’s efforts to conceive a child with the husband, through IVF, demonstrated her intention to establish a permanent and unbreakable connection with him,” she said.
Peters said she refused to apply a feminist approach to the distribution of matrimonial assets, as that would indiscriminately risk creating an impression of bias.
“This perception would undermine the fundamental principle of impartiality, which is central to the administration of justice,” she said.
Despite this, the judge gave half the value of the matrimonial assets to the wife, saying it was a fair distribution as the wife had sacrificed her profession and any entitlement to a salary or dividends from the family businesses.
She said the wife’s unwavering dedication to the welfare of the family was another critical consideration.
“Raising six children and supporting three grandchildren over the years required immense time, energy, and commitment,” she added.
The judge said evidence was also presented to demonstrate that the wife had been the caregiver for the husband during periods when he was unwell or otherwise indisposed.
The couple were married in 1977 and the wife made undeniable sacrifices to support the husband’s professional and business success, said Peters.
Despite earning a diploma in business studies, she chose to forgo her professional ambitions to become a housewife while the husband over the years achieved professional success, founding several businesses that underscored his entrepreneurial acumen, the judge noted.
The wife claimed that in September 2022, the husband confessed to his adulterous relationship with the mistress.
A month later she filed a petition for judicial separation and claimed spousal maintenance. She requested half the value of all movable and immovable properties, accrued during their marriage.
The wife also sought to hold the mistress accountable for her role in the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
