JUDGMENT

Clement Skinner J:

This is an application by the plaintiff wife for the care, custody and control of a child, a boy, LZK, who is now with the defendant husband.

It will be more convenient hereafter to refer to the plaintiff and defendant as the wife and the husband respectively. I should mention that when this application was filed, the wife had also claimed from the husband a monthly sum of RM300 as maintenance towards the child but her claim for maintenance was withdrawn.

The husband and wife were married on 28 October 1997. He was then 24 years of age and she was 19 years old. They both shared a common interest - it was in music. After the marriage, they lived at various places but the last was at the husband's parents house at 9A, Jalan Maludan Utara, Sibu, Sarawak.

The marriage was not a happy one. Within 14 months of getting married, that is, by 3 December 1998, the wife had returned to her mother's house.

After the marriage, the wife taught music at the Salim Music Centre which was run by the husband and wife. The husband taught music there as well. One of his students was a lady by the name of Kong Siew Ping. The wife alleges that in December 1998, when she discovered that the husband was having an affair with Kong Siew Ping, she returned to her mother's house. She was by then seven months pregnant. The wife also says she returned to her mother's house because the husband was a man of ungovernable and uncontrollable temper and she feared for her safety and that of the unborn child. When she left for her mother's house, it was with the blessings of the husband's parents. The husband denies the allegation of adultery but there is no doubt that Kong Siew Ping featured prominently in their marital differences.

After the wife returned to her mother's house, she received a visit from the husband on Christmas day of 1998. He did not come alone. His father was there too and so was the wife's mother. According to the wife, the husband came to ask for a divorce and for her permission for him to live with Kong Siew Ping. The wife would not agree and the husband's father was against the idea as well. When the husband discovered everyone was not agreeable to his request, he wanted to leave but was stopped by his father. At that point the husband became violent and uncontrollable. He rushed into the kitchen, grabbed hold of three choppers and threatened to kill his father. The police were called whereafter the husband was detained for one night. I shall refer to this incident as the "chopper incident".

According to the wife, the next night, ie, 26 December 1998, the husband bought a ring and presented it to Kong Siew Ping on the following day. She accepted the ring but due to objections from her family members returned it to the husband on 2 January 1999 which caused the husband to become hysterical; as a result of which, he had to be admitted to the local hospital. A perusal of the discharge summary issued by the Sibu Hospital on the husband's discharge shows that the husband was admitted on 2 January 1999 and discharged on 4 January 1999 and was diagnosed as "parasuicide". I shall refer to this incident as "the ring incident".

The wife also alleges that at around that time ie, early January 1999, the husband deliberately set fire to a semi-detached house which had been rented by them for teaching music. I shall refer to this as "the fire incident".

The husband does not deny that these incidents took place but has sought to explain why he behaved in the manner he did. With regard to the chopper incident, he said he was upset and depressed as his attempts at reconciliation were rebuffed by the wife, whom he felt was being influenced by her mother. According to the husband, he was on the verge of a mental breakdown and his father being concerned for his safety and as a purely precautionary measure, called the police so that he would be detained for one night.

With regard to the ring incident, the husband said that on 26 Dece