It seems obvious, but before you get divorced you must first get married. What if you’re already married though, just nobody can find any record of it? That’s what’s causing problems in a Malaysian court right now, as a woman who is seeking a divorce has been ordered by the court to first get married.

The woman, Siti Aishah Chou Abdullah, was refused a divorce by the court because there is no actual record of her marriage in the first place. So she has been told if she wants a divorce, she must first marry her husband.

The marriage between the 24-year-old woman from Cambodia, and Wan Ismail Wan Jusoh took place in Kuala Lumpur, five years ago in 2003.

According to her lawyer, the marriage started to show signs of cracks when her husband decided he wanted a third wife. Siti is the man’s second wife already.

Clive Bellmore