According to the Ministry of Social and Family Development, more divorced couples have been awarded joint custody of their children.

On July 9, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC Seah Kian Peng asked for the number of divorce cases where custody of the child was awarded to the mother, the father, and both parents respectively.

"Custody" refers to the authority to make major decisions on issues like education, religion and health.

So, in the majority of divorce cases, both parents share this authority over their children.

MSF provided a written answer to Seah's question. The numbers given were for the years of 2014, 2015 and 2016.

In all three years, joint custody of the children was awarded in the majority of cases, over 70 percent.

The total number of divorce cases with custody orders rose slightly every year.

• 2014: 3,878
• 2015: 3,945
• 2016: 3,957

But the number of joint custody orders made rose by more than 200 -- 2,736 in 2014 as compared to 2,940 in 2016.

Fathers' rights

In Singapore, laws have recently been changed to reflect the importance of the father in a child's life.

Fathers with children born on or after Jan. 1, 2017 get two weeks of mandatory paid paternity leave, instead of one, which itself was only introduced in 2013.

This applies if the father is or had been "lawfully married to the child's mother between conception and birth".

Even in cases of divorce, awarding joint custody allows the father to play a larger role in their child's life.

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Mothers still favoured

But when that doesn't happen, single-parent custody orders are more likely awarded to the mother instead of the father.

• 2014: 843 (mother) to 241 (father)
• 2015: 827 (mother) to 221 (father)
• 2016: 764 (mother) to 191 (father)

And even in joint custody cases, the court usually awards "Care and Control" of the children to the mother.

This refers to the day-to-day matters that a child is involved in.

According to Gloria James Civetta & Co, specialist divorce lawyers in Singapore, care and control is only awarded to the father in "exceptional circumstances".

"In exceptional circumstances, for instance, if the mother lacks the mental capacity to look after the child, or if the husband claims that the mother abuses the child, the court may then award care and control to the father."

[Editor's note: The previous headline was "Divorce rates in S'pore on the rise, but joint-custody of children awarded more often." It has been amended.]

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