How Singapore students above the age of 21 can sue their parents for educational costs
- Last month, a Singapore judge ordered a father to pay part of his 22-year-old son’s education overseas, casting the spotlight on a little-known law
- Lawyers say the father’s decision to appeal could have significant legal implications
By Tessa Oh
Last month, a Singapore judge ordered a father to pay part of his 22-year-old son’s education overseas. The ruling has cast the spotlight on a little-known law that allows people above the age of 21 to sue their parents for education-related expenses.
What happened in the case?
A Family Court judge ordered the father to pay 60 per cent of his son’s study expenses in Canada. The young man’s parents divorced when he was eight years old. The father, a businessman, has remarried and has two sons from that marriage.
The son studied in a polytechnic but his results were not good enough to earn him a place in local universities, so he looked abroad and got into Columbia College in Vancouver. Although the father had earlier agreed to pay for his son’s education, he argued that the young man simply wanted to go abroad to “escape” Singapore and objected to paying for his education.
However, District Judge Jinny Tan ruled that he was obliged to pay a share of the young man’s educational expenses under Singapore law. The reasons included the fact that the son genuinely wished to make himself more employable through his studies, and the father’s capacity to pay.