Arulanandom J:

This was an application for custody of three children, Alban Teh, 15 years, Kathleen Josephine Teh, ten years, and Bernard Antione Teh, five years, by the mother Yew Peng Siong, a teacher.

The application was a consequence of a petition for divorce presented by the applicant, the mother of the said children, against the respondent on the grounds of the respondent's adultery with one Selma Brazier with whom the respondent was now living and cohabiting. The suit was undefended and at the hearing counsel for the petitioner requested a shortening of the term for making the decree nisi absolute on the grounds that the petitioner was intending to get married soon. The hearing was on 28 November 1975, and the court decreed that the decree nisi be made absolute in six weeks unless sufficient cause be shown. The question of custody of the said children of the marriage was adjourned into chambers on a date to be fixed. The decree nisi was made absolute on 9 January 1976.

On 27 January 1976, a Summons-in-Chambers was filed seeking the following orders: -

(a) That the custody care and control of Alban Teh, Kathleen Josephine Teh and Bernard Antione Teh be given to th