Over the years, I have come across a few cases where one parent resorted to using a child to hurt the other parent. It is really sad.
An extreme case of “using a child to hurt the other parent” happened in China recently. A woman in Jiangxi province cut off her son’s penis to “get back at her husband’s family”. The boy, Xiao Wen, was taken by his grandparents to the hospital and his trousers was soaked in blood.
A penis construction surgery was performed on the boy and he has stabilised. While he may experience difficulties in penile functions, doctors said that he may still be able to have children in the future.
Xiao Wen’s mother had allegedly left the family more than a year ago and has remarried.
Netizens expressed fury and called the mother “sick”. One netizen put it aptly: “If you have any grudges, go look for the adults. Why do you hurt your own son?”
See: Lydia Lam, “Woman in China cuts off son’s penis to ‘get back at husband’s family’: Reports”, The Straits Times, 24 August 2017
As a divorce lawyer in Singapore, I try my best to dissuade clients from using a child to hurt the other parent.
In every divorce, the child’s welfare should be of paramount importance.
In recent years, new initiatives have been introduced for the Child’s benefit, including:
- The Child Representative Scheme; and
- The Divorce Support Specialist Agencies.
To find out more about the above schemes, contact us today!
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5. Maintenance Issues (Alimony)
