Singapore court rules man, 97, mentally fit to marry mistress, dismisses son’s suit
The widower, who had an extramarital affair with his secretary since 1971, has filed separate lawsuits against his second son and grandson
A Singapore court has dismissed a man’s attempt to have his 97-year-old father declared mentally incapable for wanting to marry his long-time mistress, with the judge saying that mental capacity should not be determined solely by age or appearance.
The elderly man, who is still chairman of the chemical company he founded in the 1960s, had been conducting an extramarital affair with his secretary since 1971, Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported on Tuesday, citing court proceedings.
The two had a child together, while he had three sons with his wife, whom he married in 1950. His wife, who died in 2014, was aware of the affair but did not divorce him.
In 2016, the secretary moved in with the businessman and his second son’s family. In mid-2021, the woman told the businessman’s family that she and the patriarch would be getting married on June 11 that year.
This led to a family meeting. The secretary said that, as a Catholic, she wanted to be legally married, and if the family did not support her, she would leave.
The businessman’s second son filed an application in the family court asking that his father be ruled mentally incompetent and therefore incapable of making independent decisions, such as marriage. He claimed that, following a fall at home in 2017, his father’s mental capacity had deteriorated and that he showed signs of dementia.