Investigation

Source A (Audio Source)

Oral account of Mr Khoo Teck Soon who was an eyewitness to the Maria Hertogh riots. He was a reporter with The Straits Time which covered the news of the custody battle. Click on the video below to listen to his interview on the riots. A transcript of the interview is attached below. 

Source B: Research from the National Library Singapore on the Maria Hertogh Riots. 

In his verdict, Justice Brown of the Singapore High Court declared that Maria’s marriage was illegal “on the grounds that under her personal law, [which was] Dutch law, Maria was not [of] an age to contract a marriage”. Brown noted that Maria “had no capacity to become a Muslim” because she had been born and baptised a Roman Catholic. In addition, Justice Brown awarded the custody of Maria to her birth parents as the court could not override parental rights.

After the verdict, Maria was handed over to Adeline, who then placed Maria temporarily in the Roman Catholic Convent of the Good Shepherd to await her return to the Netherlands. 

Source D: Documentary by Channel News Asia detailing the Maria Hertogh Custody.                                       Includes interviews with Maria Hertogh herself and her children.