Errant ex-husbands might divert alimony funds, says lawyer

 

The prospect of a freeze on bank accounts may result in money meant for alimony being diverted into precious metals or jewellery. (Rawpixel pic)

PETALING JAYA: A lawyer has called for additional measures beyond freezing the bank accounts of divorced Muslim men who do not pay court-ordered maintenance to their former wives.

Family and child rights lawyer Goh Siu Lin said the men could divert their money into other assets in anticipation of the accounts being frozen.

“It could be that money is diverted, not necessarily kept as cash in bank accounts but converted into precious metals, gold, stocks or real estate. Freezing bank accounts alone may not necessarily be effective,” she said.

Other countries such as Britain used other measures such as disqualifying the men from driving or from holding a passport, she said

Goh Siu Lin.

She said there was a need for the authorities to take action to get defaulting spouses to fulfil their legal obligations to their wives and children.

The proposal to freeze the bank accounts was announced by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently. However, the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association said the money owed should instead be deducted from the men’s salaries and paid to their ex-wives.

Syarifatul Adibah, a senior programme officer from Sisters in Islam said the plan to freeze the ex-husbands’ accounts was long overdue.

She said research had shown that the failure to provide for their wives and children was among the top four causes of divorce.

“Without severe sanctions, fathers will continue to ignore the financial needs of their children,” she said. - FMT