CATCHING a cheating spouse could not have been easier.

There was no need to hire a private eye to gather any evidence, because all the incriminating facts were nicely detailed by the guilty spouse - in writing.

In an unusual divorce case that was heard in the Family Court, a man found out that his wife was unfaithful when he stumbled on an 'event log' that was kept by his wife.

In it, the wife recorded dates and other details of her trysts with her lovers when they met both in Singapore and overseas.

When confronted by her husband, the woman not only did not deny her wrongdoing, she wrote a long 'letter of confession', which gave detailed accounts of her affairs.

NO MORE AFFAIRS

In her bid to save the marriage, she had earlier given her husband 'a letter of guarantee', in which she supposedly promised that she would not see her lovers again.

Despite the assurance, the couple still parted and all the writings from the wife ended up as evidence in court.

Describing the letter which was written in Chinese as an 'extraordinary confession', District Judge May Loh said: 'The letter is some eight pages long and details her escapades overseas and at home with other men.

'It is interspersed with passages expressing the wife's deep remorse for the hurt and humiliation her actions have caused their child and her husband.

'It is a very deeply moving letter of confession written in beautiful prose, its lyrical beauty retained even after being translated into the English language.'

The marriage lasted less than nine years.

The couple, both originally from China, had registered their marriage here in 1998.

The husband, who works at a multi-national company based here, has since become a Singapore citizen.

The union had been rocky from the start, with the wife wanting to leave and return to her parents in China within the first year.

But upon discovering she was expecting, she returned to Singapore where their daughter, now 9, was born and raised.

She did not stay faithful, and subsequently had affairs with other men.

The couple eventually divorced in March last year.

The current case centred on custody of their child and how much money the husband should pay his ex-wife.

It was also highlighted in court that the woman had a history of suffering from bi-polar depression, a condition which could result in severe mood swings for the patient.

In this case, the content of her letters was used as evidence by her ex-husband to show that her contributions to family was minimal, because she had been frequently affected by her episodes of depression.

This was because apart from her affairs with other men, she had also written about his support and help when she was suffering from depression.

But the judge felt that the wife appeared to be 'highly lucid' when she wrote the letter.

As a result, the letter was a substantial piece of evidence to decide the couple's contributions to the marriage.

The judge found it noteworthy that the wife had described her husband's 'unstinting support and care' for her.

In view of the confession letter and the fact of her relapses, the judge ruled that the wife had made only a limited indirect contribution to what was substantively a short marriage.

The woman had earlier wanted to claim $6,400 in unsubstantiated monthly maintenance on the argument that she cannot be employed for long due to her condition.

But the judge also noted that the wife's salary had increased over the years, from $1,500 in 2003 to $2,200 last year.

Apart from $1,600 living expenses for both her and her daughter, she wanted $800 for clothing, shoes and personal items, $180 for facial treatment, $80 for hair treatment and $66 for manicure and pedicure treatment every month.

In the end, the judge fixed the monthly maintenance for the wife and the child of the marriage at $1,200 only.

The wife is appealing the case.