27-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Socialite who mingled with Kardashians awarded RM10.5mil in divorce
The Kuala Lumpur family court awarded a foreign woman RM6.72 million in spousal maintenance and assets of RM3.79mil following her divorce from a tycoon after 26 years of marriage.
KUALA LUMPUR : A woman, who clung on to her marriage to preserve the status and privileges of being a tycoon's wife, was awarded RM10.5 million in spousal maintenance and assets after the High Court dissolved their union following a bitter divorce battle.
Justice Evrol Mariette Peters said the woman, anonymised as Chan, elected not to end the marriage despite being profoundly unhappy with her husband, Shan.
'It became apparent that the wife's decision was driven less by love or hope for reconciliation, and more by a desire to maintain the social standing and privileges associated with her role as the wife of the husband,' the judge said in a 166-page written judgment.
Peters said photographic evidence showed the wife appearing alongside celebrities such as designer Michael Kors, actress Kate Hudson, and members of the Kardashian family, as well as attending prestigious events like the Cannes Film Festival.
'These glimpses into her public life suggested that the wife valued the status and lifestyle afforded by her marriage more than the relationship itself.
'The wife's insistence on maintaining the marriage, despite its evident breakdown, appeared to be driven more by a desire to preserve certain external benefits than by any sincere intention to reconcile or restore the marital relationship,' said Peters.
The award is believed to be one of the highest awards ever handed down by a family court in Malaysia.
The woman, a foreigner with permanent resident status, also dragged two other women into the dispute, claiming they had committing adultery with her husband.
Peters, however, said there was insufficient evidence to prove adultery with the first woman.
The judge also ruled that the husband's adultery with the second co-respondent existed only before 2015 and that there was no evidence to suggest it had resulted in the marriage breaking down irretrievably.
She said the wife had tolerated the affair and had forgiven her husband in 2015, before filing for a divorce three years later.
In her decision, Peters concluded that both Chan and Shan had contributed to the relationship deteriorating beyond repair.
In a nutshell, the judge said the wife had white-knuckled a marriage that had long lost its vitality, holding on to an illusory marriage that no longer served either party.
The husband, on the other hand, remained disengaged, content with a stagnant marriage, yet unwilling to take meaningful steps to either repair or end it in a respectful way.
The judge said his passivity allowed the relationship to exist in a state of inertia, devoid of growth or purpose.
'This conscious decision had only extended the emotional suffering of both parties, depriving them of the closure necessary to begin healing and move forward with their lives,' she added.
The husband had proposed a monthly maintenance of RM15,000 to RM20,000— while the wife suggested RM230,000, which the judge called 'excessive, unjustifiable, and unreasonable'.
'Divorce is not a lottery, nor is it a revenue-generating exercise. It is not a tool for vindication or a means to exact revenge,' the judge said.
Peters said she decided on a lump-sum payment in maintenance due to the wife's foreign citizenship, which posed visa and employment challenges post-divorce, requiring immediate financial stability.
'Enforcing monthly payments across borders would be impractical,' she added.
She ordered spousal maintenance of RM6.72 million, calculated at RM35,000 per month, taking into account the woman's age at the date of the decision, the retirement age in Malaysia and life expectancy.
As for asset division, Peters awarded the wife the couple's RM2 million matrimonial home, RM1.04 million for her contribution to their companies, savings in EPF (RM450,000) and a car (RM350,000).
The facts of the case showed that Shan was a Malaysian entrepreneur and the executive director of a major luxury retail company in Southeast Asia.
The couple were married in 1999 and initially resided with Shan's parents before moving into a penthouse in 2009. They have two children.
Tensions escalated over the years, with a key turning point being a recorded confrontation in October 2017 at the company's premises after the husband had left their matrimonial home.
The divorce petition was filed in 2018 but only came up for hearing four years later.
The highly contentious trial lasted 80 days and saw 26 witnesses testify with nearly 16,000 documents tendered in evidence, reflecting the complexity of the legal, financial and personal issues at stake.
