Number of Cases Requiring an Assistant Registrar to Sign Documents for Sale of Matrimonial Property due to Refusal by Spouse to Sign Sale Documents

6 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Law for each year of the past five years (a) how many cases has an Assistant Registrar been required to sign on documents for the sale of the matrimonial property because of refusal by the spouse to sign the sale documents; (b) for these applications, what is the average and mean duration of the Assistant Registrar's signing from the date of the initial order requiring the sale of the matrimonial home; (c) what is the average and mean number of previous applications also involving such non-compliance by the spouse to sign the sale documents; and (d) if such data is not currently collected, whether the Ministry will consider collecting such data.

Mr K Shanmugam: Currently, the data referred to in (a), (b), and (c) is not collected.

In relation to (b), the time between the Registrar's signing of documents to effect the surrender, sale, or transfer of the matrimonial property and the making of the initial court order depends on the facts of the case, including the actual terms of the initial court order. Where the application is approved, the relevant documents are signed on the same day.

We will explore with the Courts if they are able to collect such data.