The Custody Battle

In 1949, the High Court in Singapore was brought in and they placed Maria under the care of Socail Welfare Department.

In May 1950, the court ordered the Maria was to be returned to her birth parents. Che Aminah was not happy with this as over the years she and Maria had become very close and they did not want to leave each other.
Therefore, Che Aminah opposed the idea and sent and appeal. After two months, the High Court returned Maria to Che Aminah.Four days after winning the appeal, Che Aminah got Maria married to a Malay teacher when she was only thirteen years old.

In November 1950, both sides were still fighting for custody over Maria. This time, the court again decided that Maria belonged with her biological parents and did not recognise her marriage as she was under-aged and her natural father's consent was not given. This angered the Muslims as they felt that their law was not given importance too.