Lawyer-cum-legislator Vong Hin Fai, who leads the legislature’s 3rd Standing Committee, told the media yesterday that a mother can now declare that her husband is not the biological father of her child without having to go through “multiple, often tedious, legal procedures”.
Vong made the remarks during a press conference regarding a civil register amendment bill after a closed-door meeting with government officials yesterday, which was also attended by Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Veng Chun.
The civil register amendment bill proposes that a mother’s child will no longer be automatically registered as the offspring of her legal husband. The respective article states that the child’s birth father can choose to make his status official. Passing the bill “prioritises the child’s welfare”, and will help “give the child a sense of identity”, Vong said, adding that “households where there’s controversy surrounding the husband’s parental status are never a healthy growing environment for the child.”
Another article in the bill proposes that marriage registrations can take place at weddings as long as a public or private notary witnesses and officiates at the marriage. Vong said that this was done to provide “more options” and to make the process “simpler” and more convenient for people as they would no longer need to go to complete their marriage registration on a different day and have a say on the venue choice for their marriage registration.
Regarding divorce, the bill proposes that the Civil Affairs Registry can accept divorce by mutual agreement between couples with underage children. However, to protect the rights and interests of underage children, Vong underlined that the request for divorce must be accompanied by an agreement on child support, an agreement on family domicile and an agreement on the regulation of parental authority, which must be sent to the Public Prosecutions Office at the Court of First Instance (TJB). An official report on the matter will be issued by the office within 30 days to ensure the maximum protection of the rights of underage children.
The civil register amendment bill outline was passed earlier in June. After a closed-door meeting on June 19, Vong announced that his committee would launch a public consultation slated to continue until July 19. He told the media yesterday that the committee had meanwhile received three letters from members of the public and that the committee would review them “meticulously”.
According to Vong, the bill is expected to take effect next March, after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO), and that the article concerning divorce by mutual agreement between couples with underage children would only become effective in January 2025, “for it is a complex process that involves multiple public entities and the Public Prosecutions Office”.
The legislature’s 3rd Standing Committee President Vong Hin Fai looks on during yesterday’s press briefing about a government-initiated bill to amend the Civil Register Law.
– Photo: Leong Ian Kio
