Man exposed daughter's identity despite court order after she was removed from his care
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 29 Jul 2025
Author: Selina Lum
A Youth Court judge said the girl should not be returned to the man's care until he is sufficiently fit to care for her.
A man exposed the identity of his teenage daughter despite court orders not to do so, after she was placed in the care of her grandparents to prevent him from emotionally abusing her.
He also disclosed her identity when he sent e-mails to various foreign embassies to seek political asylum, saying that he wanted to relocate out of Asean and the Commonwealth to return to his 'Ural-Altaic' roots, seemingly referring to a language grouping largely rejected by modern linguists.
In a written judgment published on July 26, a Youth Court judge said the girl, who is now 16 years old, should not be returned to the man's care until he is sufficiently fit to care for her.
District Judge Wendy Yu considered the man's breaches of court orders, such as by disclosing her identity to others, and his refusal to accept professional attempts to help ease the girl back to living with him.
The judge said: 'The father's recent act of disclosing the child's identity... by copying the multiple foreign embassies also persuaded me that the father still does not seem to have insight currently as to how his conduct would compromise the well-being of the child.'
Nevertheless, the judge said attempts should be made to heal the father-daughter relationship.
She extended the girl's stay with her grandparents by six months to offer some stability as she is taking her O-level examinations at the end of 2025, and to give the professionals a chance to help reintegrate her back to living with her father.
'If the father still refuses the therapeutic sessions to work on helping the child feel safe at the prospect of living with him, it is to his own detriment and will only delay the reintegration process. The ball is in his court.'
According to the judgment, the father has care and control of the girl. No details were given on the custody arrangement between him and her mother.
In May 2022, the Child Protective Service (CPS) recommended that the child be put in the care of her paternal grandparents for a year, with a review after six months.
In applying to the court for a care and protection order, CPS said the girl was at risk of being ill-treated by the father and that she behaved in a manner that was harmful to herself. But the father was unwilling to take remedial steps.
CPS added that she was likely to suffer from emotional harm owing to emotional or psychological abuse by the father.
At the review hearing in December 2022, CPS recommended that she stay with her grandparents for a year. The man contested the recommendations.
In August 2023, after speaking to the girl, who was then 14 years old, the judge ordered the child to be placed under her grandparents' care for a year.
In August 2024, CPS recommended for the order to be extended for another year. The father objected to this, while the mother agreed.
CPS submitted that he had subjected the child to 'persistent acts of rejection or degradation' that are harmful to her well-being or sense of self-worth.
The court was told that the man was confrontational during access sessions between the child and him.
He had also persistently revealed her identity online.
In particular, he recorded six access sessions between January and March 2024 without permission and uploaded them on YouTube and his website.
He also uploaded a copy of an affidavit that contained references to the child's name.
He was given a two-year conditional warning by the police for recording and uploading photos of his access sessions on social media platforms.
According to CPS, the girl's 'emotions became very unstable' after she learnt of the uploading of the videos.
In November 2024, the man alleged that he had 'discovered corrupt practices' and that CPS wanted to extend the order 'for as long as possible to generate fraudulent counselling fees'. He also told the court that he did not intend to remove the online content.
Subsequently, CPS told the court that, between May 6 and 21, the man sent multiple e-mails to foreign embassies, which resulted in the disclosure of the girl's identity.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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