VHK v VHL

[2023] SGHCF 34 High Court (Family Division) 25 July 2023 HCF/DT 2504/2018 ( HCF/SUM 235/2022,HCF/SUM 27/2023,HCF/SUM 133/2023 )

Key facts

Court	High Court (Family Division)
Decided	25 July 2023
Judge	Choo Han Teck
Charges / claim	Family Law

Source: [2023] SGHCF 34, High Court (Family Division), decided 25 July 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Family Law — Custody – Access Family Law – Custody – Care and control

Practice Areas

Family Law

Judges (1)

Choo Han Teck Delivered

Parties (2)

VHK Plaintiff

VHL Defendant

Case Significance

VHK v VHL [2023] SGHCF 34 is a grounds of decision of Choo Han Teck J in the General Division of the High Court (Family Division), delivered on 25 July 2023 in Divorce (Transferred) No 2504 of 2018 (Summonses Nos 235 of 2022, 27 and 133 of 2023). The plaintiff ("the Mother"), a 48-year-old Singapore citizen and former online tutoring business owner, and the defendant ("the Father"), a 57-year-old American specialist doctor residing in the United States, solemnised their marriage in Singapore on 19 March 2013 and married again in the US on 28 March 2013, their daughter being born on 26 March 2014 with both Singapore and American citizenships. After the Mother left the Father in early 2016, moved to Hawaii and filed for divorce in September 2016, she relocated to Singapore with the Child in early 2018, and her US divorce application was dismissed on 30 May 2018; the catchwords address custody, access, and care and control.

Summary

This case concerned custody, care and control, access and committal disputes over a nine-year-old child following the divorce of a Singaporean mother and an American father. The mother, who had moved to Singapore with the child, refused to disclose her location and was subject to an arrest warrant she was found to be using to evade the court. Choo Han Teck J allowed the father's amended application and granted him sole custody, care and control of the child, while adjourning the committal summons until the mother appears before the court.

What was VHK v VHL [2023] SGHCF 34 about?

It was a family dispute before Choo Han Teck J in the Family Division, delivered on 25 July 2023, concerning custody, access, and care and control of a daughter born on 26 March 2014 to a 48-year-old Singaporean Mother and a 57-year-old American Father.

Who were the parties in VHK v VHL [2023] SGHCF 34?

The plaintiff Mother was a 48-year-old Singapore citizen and former online tutoring business owner, and the defendant Father was a 57-year-old American specialist doctor residing in the US; they married in Singapore on 19 March 2013 and again in the US on 28 March 2013.