Case No. EWFC-75

–The wife sought to suggest that, because of the blood relationship between Ahmed Mosthaque and Sume Begum, he could not be the father of X. She suggested that ‘you cannot marry your uncle.’ because they would not have been permitted to marry. Whilst writing this judgment, I realised that I needed to check what the blood relationship was thought to be between Sume Begum, Ms Mosthaque and the husband. I emailed counsel to ask. I was told by counsel for the wife in an email dated 21st June 2022: ‘my instructions are as far as my client is concerned, there is no blood relationship between Sume Begum, the husband and the wife, nor is there any blood relationship between Mr Mosthaque Ahmed and Sume Begum’. The other counsel emailed me to agree. Therefore, the point that the wife was making (‘you cannot marry your uncle’) does not make sense in relation to the marriage between Ahmed Mosthaque and Sume Begum. Further, the fact is that she and Mr Mosthaque did marry. The wife also suggested that she knew that Alom Uddin could not be father of Y because he ‘had a child two weeks ago and his wife came from Bangladesh’; that does not make sense, either. 72.She described how, on one occasion, the husband was in bed next to her in 2014. She said that she took his phone and saw that Sume Begum was texting him about G and was asking: ‘how was your day?’ She said: ‘I did not see much of what she was texting. When I saw my son’s name, that they were talking about him, I got suspicious. She sent him 3 beautiful pictures of her. They were just like chatty saying: ‘hi, how are you?’ I got crazy angry. I took the phone and I showed him and I asked: ‘What is going on: why are you talking to her as if she was a wife’. He snatched the phone from me. He took it so fast and looked angry and shattered. I said: ‘I’m sure that she is your wife’. The wife said that the husband saved Sume’s number on his phone under a man’s name, Shumon (Shumon is his cousin). The husband denies it. Although that text exchange (which I accept took place) does suggest that the husband had a sufficiently close connection with Sume Begum to be messaging with her in those terms, it does not go anywhere to show a sexual relationship between them, let alone a marriage.73.The wife said that Sume Begum did come into the restaurant with X for D’s birthday; I observe also that Sume Begum has worked in the restaurant. The wife said that the husband referred to X as his ‘son.’ I think it highly unlikely that the husband would announce in front of the wife that X was his biological son and, therefore, I do not accept her evidence on this point. She said that, culturally, cousins would call each other brother and sister and I accept that is so. I also accept that the husband has treated X, in particular, as if he were part of the family. I also note that, since Sume Begum is not a relative and Ahmed Mosthaque is only a distant relative, that X would only be a distant cousin at most. If Ahmed Mosthaque is the cousin of the husband’s father it would mean that X would be the husband’s second cousin, if Ahmed Mosthaque is the father. 74.As to the restaurant, the wife said that the husband said to her: ‘this is my restaurant. We will make money there’. In cross examination she said: ‘As to the business – I did not see any of the information about the financial position of the business. He said that he was the boss. I can’t be sure who owns the business.’ In my opinion, although it is understandable that the wife should not differentiate in everyday language between ‘boss’, ‘manager’ and ‘owner’, that differentiation should have been made within the formality of court proceedings. 75.I accept that he did say words to the effect that he was the boss of the restaurant. It adds to the picture that is clear from many quarters of the evidence that the husband managed the business with his brother Almas. It does not mean that he owned the building or the shares in Rexvilla or Bluebird Restaurant Ltd. The business, the company and the building are separate. There has been no attempt by the wife to show an understanding that they are separate. Many restaurant managers (and, indeed, some chefs) will refer to restaurants where they work as ‘my restaurant’; it does not mean that they own the building from which the restaurant operates. Nor does it mean that there is no holding company. Many restaurants must operate on just that basis. 76.The wife said that the children grew up with money and that there was ‘lots of money flowing around’. She was asked about this in cross examination and she accepted that, during the marriage, the family claimed state benefits, including means tested benefits (child tax credit and working tax credit). How this family managed to receive that amount of state benefits, I do not know because I do not have the necessary documentation. The wife said that the benefits were paid into a bank account in her sole name but the husband made the benefits claims. With the sort of access to money through the business that I have now been able to identify, the benefits and the rent from 36 Beaconsfield, I consider that this family must have had a standard of living that was at least reasonable, if not more.77.The wife maintained her assertion that the husband has a 75% share in the restaurant. That is based on her understanding of the partnership share that the husband had in the former business that ran from 54 High Street. I do not accept her evidence on this point; she has not studied the existing documents with sufficient care in relation to the issues that she raises about the business, the properties or the company. 78.She considered that the husband has put the children under pressure not to give evidence. She said that, two weeks ago, he came to the home and spoke to the children in the drive way and, recently, bought a car for E. She said that he was saying in a sweet way: ‘don’t give evidence about daddy because if you say it, daddy will be very hurt’. The children, she said, love their mum and their dad. I do not accept that the wife was present when the husband spoke to the children on that occasion; the wife’s account comes from the children. I accept that both parents love the children and that the children have come under pressure from both of them. The wife wanted E and B to give evidence; the husband did not. The children will be well aware of that.79.She said that she had very little knowledge about the lease on 50-52 High Street as the husband did not talk about it and just said that it was his business and that it would give the children a future. She said that she did not ask questions at the time. That has to be compared with paragraph 13 of her statement at C3 where she says that the husband ‘confirmed’ that ‘he had bought the property…and further confirmed that he held a 75% share…in the property.’ In oral evidence she said: ‘he used to say ‘this is my business’’. However, she then went on to say: ‘he never disclosed anything to me. He wanted to keep everything secret’.80.I do not accept that the husband told her that the property, 50-52 High St, was his. The fact is that the property was not his and it never has been. The husband may well have said that the business was his and, in the sense that he and Almas control it, that would have been true. 81.In reply to questions from Mr Meethan, she said: ‘He [the husband] did not mention any money that he was putting into 50-52 High St. I can’t point to any sum that he did put into the property. I would have no idea where the money came from for the purchase of High St, beyond the Natwest mortgage. I don’t know anything about this transaction. I do not know whether Rupia Begum and the aunt, Easmin, bought the property themselves.’ To Mr Miah she said: ‘I don’t know whether Rupia Begum and Easmin bought the property (High St) in 2008. I have not seen the 4th statement by Rupia. I don’t know how the purchase of the property was funded.’82.She said that she did not see Sume Begum with the husband at all. When she asked the husband whether he had married Sume, the husband told her: ‘no, no, no.’ She did not try to contact Ms Begum. Her children came home one time and said: ‘we have a step-mother’ Therefore, about six or seven years ago, she did go to the property where Sume was then living, and spoke to the neighbours, she said. She said that a neighbour told her that the husband and Sume lived there. At C8, paragraph 39, the wife says that the neighbour shouted: ‘you are the ex-partner of Alim Uddin and I have been told to call the police if you harass his wife.’ I think it highly unlikely that the neighbour did say that. The account in paragraph 39 is inaccurate in any event since it suggests that this occurred in Morland Rd, when the wife’s evidence is that it occurred at the previous home of Sume Begum, 15 Beale Way, Burnham-on-Sea.83.As to Morland Rd, she said: ‘I just thought, how can Sume Begum and Shakir Jumon afford to buy a house? Sume had just come back from Bangladesh’. It is plain it is that and her belief that the husband and Sume Begum were married and had children together, rather than any study of the evidence that led her to make her assertions that the husband owns the whole beneficial interest in the property. 84.The wife was plainly very distressed about the circumstances in which she finds herself and also because she feels that the husband has formed a secret involvement with Sume Begum. I did not find her oral evidence helpful. Much of it was not accurate and suggested that she had not analysed the documents that have been filed. 85.