Maria Hertogh Riots

The riots broke out over the custody battle of a 13 year old girl,Maria Hertogh.Maria Hertogh was born in Java in 1937 to Dutch Catholic parents.When her parents were imprisoned during the Japanese Occupation,Maria came under the care of a Malay woman,Che Aminah and her husband.They brought her up as a Muslim and named her Nadra.In 1949,Maria's mother,Adeline Hertogh,came to claim her daughter back.Maria's case was brought to the High Court in Singapore and she was placed under the care of the Social Welfare Department.In May 1950, the court ruled that Maria should be returned to her natural parents.Che Aminah opposed the decision and sent an appeal.Two months later,the court returned Maria to Che Aminah.Under Che Aminah's care,Maria went through a marriage ceremony with a malay teacher.She was 13 years old then.In November 1950,the battle for the custody continued.The court ruled that Maria should be returned to her natural parents.The judge announced that the Dutch law did not recognise Maria's marriage as she was under-age abd her natural father's consent was not obtained,this upset the Muslim community,they felt that the Muslim law was not respected.