MURRAY-AYNSLEY, J In this case the plaintiff claims to be the widow of one Yap Swee. Up to a point the facts are clear. She was for some years admittedly a tsip of the deceased and bore two children, a boy and a girl, by him. In March, 1936, she left the house of the deceased in Menglembu and did not return. It is alleged by the defendants that thereafter all relations were broken off and that the plaintiff was divorced. The plaintiff on the other hand, avers that relations continued until the end of the life of the deceased. The principal issue is thus whether the plaintiff was divorced.

To decide this it is necessary to consider--

(a) whether according to Chinese custom as applied in the Federated

Malay States divorce is possible;

(b) what form does such a divorce take, and

(c) did in point of fact a divorce take place according to such form.

If any divorce took place it must obviously have been in a non-judicial form as no divorce was granted or could have been granted by any Court in the Federated Malay States.

It was admitted by both sides for the purposes of this cas