Married man, 43, borrowed $60k for Chinese masseuse girlfriend who then left S’pore
A married man says he borrowed about $60,000 from banks and licensed moneylenders to support a masseuse he fell in love with, only to see their affair end months later.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, 43-year-old logistics worker surnamed Deng (transliterated) met the 44-year-old masseuse surnamed Li at a massage parlour in Toa Payoh on Dec 27 last year.
Deng said he grew closer to Li after subsequent visits, comparing their relationship to that of siblings.
“She would often take the initiative to chat with me, ask about my life, and come to me whenever she had problems,” he said.
The relationship progressed and they became a couple in late February this year.
However, Deng said that things changed in March, when he noticed that Li was in low spirits constantly. After some probing, the woman purportedly confided in him about “suffocating” debts she was facing after borrowing money from friends and relatives to renovate a house in China.
Claiming that the creditors were chasing her family members for repayment, Li sought help from Deng, who subsequently transferred money to her and her family.
According to Deng, he remitted $5,017 to Li’s mother through a remittance company and subsequently made several more transfers via Li.
In total, he estimated that the transfers totaled at least $40,000.
He also spent another $20,000 on gifts and expenses, including helping her meet sales targets at work and buying her a new iPhone.
“I usually let my wife manage my salary, so I didn’t have much money on hand,” he told Shin Min.
“I ended up borrowing from banks and licensed moneylenders. I accumulated about $60,000 in debt within six months,” he added.
Deng said he once spent about $600 to block out five hours of the masseuse’s time just so she could rest, following a bout of illness.
“I later brought her to a hotel because I just wanted her to rest and not work so hard,” he said.
Bought flight tickets to China
Deng also recounted how deeply invested he had become in the relationship.
He claimed that Li had told him she wanted to break up with her boyfriend in China because he treated her poorly.
Deng added that he bought flight tickets and accompanied her to Jieyang, Guangdong, where she allegedly ended the relationship. He also met her parents in the neighbouring province of Jiangxi.
“She told me it was the first time she had brought a partner home to meet her parents,” Deng said.
No honey, no money
Deng said the relationship eventually broke down, after which he sought to end it and recover the money he had given Li.
“I didn’t want to pressure her too much so I only asked her to repay $20,000 first,” he said.
He alleged that she initially agreed to return the money but later changed her mind.
Deng subsequently tried to contact her at the massage parlours where she had worked, but to no avail. He even discovered that one of the outlets had closed.
“She previously worked at a massage parlour on Toa Payoh Lorong 4, but after Shin Min Daily News exposed the provision of sexual services and the police conducted a raid, she moved to a new job on Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4,” claimed Deng.
“It looks like she had already left Singapore,” Deng added.
Shin Min’s attempts to contact Li were unsuccessful, although her colleagues confirmed that she had left Singapore and could not be reached.
‘A costly lesson’
Deng acknowledged that while he was married, the relationship between him and his partner was “estranged”.
“We haven’t had a proper conversation in a long time,” he told Shin Min.“Although we live under the same roof, we sleep in separate rooms.”
He lamented having “misplaced his sincere feelings” with Li and hoped to warn others against following in his footsteps.
“I paid a hefty price for this lesson.”
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