KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — The son of former Sarawak chief minister Tun Taib Mahmud  told the Shariah court today that he was not aware that his now ex-wife Shahnaz Abdul Majid became a single mother after they divorced four years ago.

During cross-examination by Shahnaz’s lawyer at the couple’s divorce retrial, Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir also said he was not aware whether Shahnaz moved on to remarry after they parted ways.

“Do you agree that she is a single mother and has never remarried since your divorce on 11 May 2011?” Akbardin Abdul Kader questioned.

“I don’t know,” Bekir answered from the dock.

He also disagreed when Akbardin pointed out that Shahnaz lost her opportunity to have more children as the couple remained married despite living apart for ten years before they were officially divorced.

In his reply, Bekir told the court that the couple had discussed the issue and he informed Shahnaz that he would allow and help her obtain the divorce and remarry.

“Do you agree that she can never have kids though she is your age but she is a woman and she won’t have such chances?” Akbardin fired again.

“I don’t have any intention to torture her like this as I had already asked her before,” Bekir answered before concurring with Akbardin that it would not be easy for Shahnaz to have more children.

Bekir was also asked to verify again the timeline of his marriage to now ex-wife, Louise Aida Hiley, an Australian national.

In his testimony last month, Bekir told the court he had married Hiley rightfully before bringing her to the wedding of his sister in August 2000, although he failed to provide the actual date of his marriage.

This following Shahnaz’s claim that Bekir had brought Hiley to whom he was then allegedly not officially married to, to the wedding of Bekir’s sister Datuk Hanifa Hajar Taib, shaming her (Shahnaz) in front of family members with the action.

Akbardin today continued to insist that Bekir had shamed Shahnaz and her family members at Hanifa’s wedding by bringing Hiley, to which the latter became defensive.

“You mean to say that I cannot bring my own wife to my sister’s wedding? I don’t agree,” he retorted before claiming that he never saw any of Shahnaz’s family members at the wedding.

Akbardin raised questions over the three luxury cars which, among others, Bekir had claimed to have presented to Shahnaz while they were still married, suggesting that the cars were not under her name.

“Do you agree that the cars are all under company’s name and not hers?” the lawyer asked.

Bekir agreed but added that Shahnaz was free to change the ownership of the vehicles if she wanted to.

“If she wants to change it to her name, then there is no problem but she never asked,” Bekir said, adding that the cars were only under her own company.

Akbardin then demanded for proof that Shahnaz owned the company but Bekir claimed he does not know the status of the ownership today.

“When she bought it was hers… now I don’t know, but till today the cars are there in front of her house,” he added.

Akbardin also grilled Bekir over the value of the three cars - a BMW X3, a Mercedez Benz S-class and a Jeep Cherokee - to which Bekir had previously claimed to have spent over RM1 million for, suggesting that the values were far less.

“The current value of these cars are far less than what you mentioned. For example the BMW X3 you mentioned was RM600,000 but it was only RM360,000 when bought. It was bought in 2007 and today it is not worth even RM100,000. Agree?” Akbardin asked.

Bekir said, however, that he does not know the market value of the three cars.

In her divorce papers, Shahnaz is seeking some RM400 million in a divorce settlement, including matrimonial property and mutaah (Islamic conciliatory payment), as well as half the assets owned by her ex-husband, including seven luxury cars, thousands of hectares of land in Sarawak, homes in countries abroad and shares in about 15 companies.

According to previous media reports, the sister of Malaysian jazz queen Datuk Sheila Majid had sought to end the marriage in accordance with the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984, citing her husband’s alleged failure to give her nafkah batin (conjugal rights) since 2001.

Shahnaz and Bekir married on January 9, 1992, when they were both aged 28, and they have a 20-year-old son named Raden Murya.

Bekir filed for divorce almost two decades later on May 11, 2011.

Shahnaz was represented by Akbardin and Dr Rafie Mohd Shafie while Bekir was represented by Saadiah Din and Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar.

The hearing for the divorce retrial before Shariah High Court judge Muhamad Abdul Karim Wahab will resume on April 27.