JUDGMENT

James Foong FCJ:

Introduction

(1) To fully appreciate the four questions posed to us, we shall start by stating the facts of this case. We shall describe the parties as they were in the court of first instance.

Background

(2) The plaintiff is an American citizen. In December 1998, when he was in Malaysia, he met the 1st defendant, a Malaysian of Chinese origin. They started dating. Sometime in April 1999, the 1st defendant travelled to the United States of America to visit the plaintiff. There at the Little Church of the West, in Las Vegas, she got "married" to the plaintiff. After that, the 1st defendant returned to Malaysia while the plaintiff remained in America.

(3) On 21 March 2000, the 1st defendant gave birth to a boy in Kuala Lumpur. She gave him an English name followed by the Chinese name but for the sake of the child we shall refer him as J. The 1st defendant must have indicated to the plaintiff that J is his son for soon after birth, the plaintiff travelled to Malaysia to be with the 1st defendant and J. He even attended Js christening ceremony. Subsequently, the plaintiff claimed to have travelled to Malaysia on a number of occasions to see the 1st defe