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Half a dozen of the other

Catherine Deshayes

Nearly half of all marriages, in the UK at least, will end in divorce, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Breaking up is never easy, especially when it comes to splitting personal belongings, including the issue over who will keep the house...

However, it looks as though a separated couple in Cambodia have come up with the perfect solution.

Moeun Rim and his wife, Nhanh, who have been married nearly 40 years, have sawn their house in half to avoid the country's complicated and costly divorce process. They have also divided their land into four parts: two for their children, and two for them.

The house - or the two halves - is located in Prey Veng province, about 56 miles from the capital, Phnom Penh.

The couple parted company following a series of arguments, according to local sources.

"We tried to persuade them to think clearly before they did this because they had been married for nearly 40 years," Local Chief Vorng Morn told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.

"But they did not listen," he said.

A local lawyer told the newspaper that dividing a property was legal if both parties had agreed to it - but that it did not mean the pair were legally divorced.

"If in the future they have any disagreements, the provincial chief will not be responsible, as there had not been a judgment from the court," Prak Phin said.

Source: www.homesoverseas.co.uk