The parties were married on 7 July 1996 in Ujung Padang. Due to work obligations, however, the parties lived in separate provinces. The applicant submitted that every time the respondent would visit him, the parties would quarrel because the respondent was too controlling. More specifically, the respondent would become displeased if the applicant had a guest visit him, would ignore the applicant's suggestions, advice or directions, and would become jealous of those close to the applicant, including the applicant's younger sibling. Furthermore, if the applicant visited the respondent, and the applicant's parents came to the respondent's home, the respondent's behaviour would often upset the applicant's mother. Problems escalated in September 1998 when the parties' second child was born and the respondent conducted the child's aqiqah (animal sacrifice) unbeknownst to the applicant.
The applicant's request was dismissed, however, as information from two witnesses produced by the respondent refuted several of the applicant's claims, and information from two witnesses produced by the applicant was, in the court's eyes, hearsay.