HE HAS spent time in jail because he did not pay maintenance to his ex-wife and two children, for whom she is claiming support.

Madam Jane’s ex-husband John even claims that as a result of his tight financial situation, he has to live like a vagrant on park benches at Changi Village.

The 59-year-old said that he earns about $1,000 a month in his current part-time job as a cargo checker.

Out of that, $200 is rent in an informal arrangement he has with his niece, at whose flat he stores some of his belongings, he said.

John claims he is also paying for his two daughters’ mobile phone bills every month which comes up to $200 each. But Madam Jane said the line had been cut and  he incurred early termination penalty, which he still owes the mobile phone operator.

Given the expenses, he said, he could not afford to pay the court-ordered maintenance of $500 a month.

John told The New Paper on Sunday: “I did pay her. She asked for $500 but I pay $400 most months. That’s what I can afford now.”

For September and October, he had to drop the amount to $300 when his earnings dropped.

Needs fees lowered
He has gone back to paying $500 after he was thrown in jail for two weeks last month for failing to pay the maintenance arrears, he said.

“I had to even borrow $200 from my friend to make up the $500 that I paid her last month,” he added.

Currently, he said he owes thousands in arrears in maintenance.

He said he did apply to the Family Court earlier this year to lower the maintenance amount once because of his current lower-paying job.

But he forgot the appointment date and didn’t turn up at the court. The case was then dropped by the court. He has not applied to the court again until now.

He has also not applied for any financial help from any agency, he claimed.

John claimed he used to earn up to $2,000 a month as a vehicle operator in a cargo complex. But he was retrenched during the economic downturn last year, he said.

He then found a part-time job in another company doing fork lift work before he switched to becomea cargo checker – his present job – earning about $1,000 a month.

Marital woes
His work requires him to work the graveyard shift, he said. He claims that as a result of him not having enough money, his wife cheated on him.

That was the final straw, so he filed for divorce last year.

Though the couple sold off their flat, it was not at a profit. His ex-wife, Madam Jane, then rented her current flat, and he is without a home.

As a result, John said he has been spending about a year sleeping on park benches around Changi Village.

When The New Paper on Sunday met him there on Thursday, he was carrying a haversack with his work clothes and a container of cakes.

He said his niece had made that for him the night before he went to work.

John said that his niece lives in a three-room flat with her family of four at Bedok. He said: “About once a week, I’ll go there to wash my clothes.”

So why doesn’t he put up with his niece?

He said he would rather roam about than trouble her. He said: “There’s more privacy and freedom living outside.”

He said he is hoping for the divorce proceedings to be completed so he can apply for a rental flat with a friend.

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