SINGAPORE – A 36-year-old woman was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail on Friday, December 19, after admitting to bigamy, an offense under Singaporean law. The case raises questions about the complexities of international marriages and the challenges faced by individuals navigating multiple legal systems.
Navigating Dual Marriages: A Singaporean Woman’s Case
A Vietnamese national received a jail sentence for entering into a second marriage while still legally married to a Singaporean man.
- Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy also provided false information to the Immigration and Checkpoints authority regarding her children.
- The woman was initially married to a Singaporean man in 2008 before entering a second marriage in Vietnam in 2015.
- She initiated divorce proceedings in Singapore in 2016, while still legally married in Vietnam.
- The prosecution had requested a three-month jail term, but the judge imposed a slightly lighter sentence.
Bigamy is illegal in Singapore and carries a potential punishment of up to seven years in jail, along with a fine.
Vietnamese national Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy, 36, pleaded guilty to the charge. The court also considered a separate charge of providing false information to the immigration and Checkpoints Authority regarding her children during sentencing.
In 2008, when she was 19, Nguyen married a 54-year-old Singaporean man. Their marriage was officially registered in Singapore. Around 2012, Nguyen returned to Vietnam to seek medical treatment. While there, she met and began a romantic relationship with a Vietnamese man, three years her senior.
Nguyen primarily resided in Vietnam during this period.Recognizing that a marriage registration in Singapore would be impractical given her existing marital status, she and her Vietnamese partner proceeded with a marriage registration in Vietnam on July 28, 2015, after she became pregnant with their child.
Following the Vietnamese marriage, Nguyen continued to live in vietnam, traveling to Singapore solely to renew her long-term visit pass.In 2016, she initiated divorce proceedings against her Singaporean husband, which were finalized on November 3, 2017.Her second marriage was dissolved in Vietnam on March 9, 2018.
The circumstances surrounding the revelation of the bigamous marriage by authorities were not detailed in court documents. The prosecution had initially requested a three-month jail sentence for Nguyen.
Appearing in court without legal representation, Nguyen expressed remorse through an interpreter. She explained that she is a single mother to a 10-year-old son who relies on her care. She also highlighted the financial and emotional burdens faced by her family, noting that her father suffers from partial paralysis and her mother is elderly.
“I’m the pillar of strength in the family, (to) take care of my family financially and emotionally,” Nguyen stated. “So I hope for leniency not only to take care of my son but to take care of my parents as well.”
The judge, acknowledging Nguyen’s family circumstances, opted for a slightly reduced sentence of 12 weeks in jail, compared to the prosecution’s recommendation.
