Singapore—On the third day of the trial of the lawsuit where a businessman is suing his former mistress for over S$2 million, the mistress took to the stand and recounted how the businessman made promises to take care of her for life one month after they had become sexually intimate.
The businessman says the money was a loan while the mistress contends that it was a gift.
Angelina Jiang told the court that Toh Eng Tiah had proposed to her at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and promised to take care of her less than one month after they had sexual relations for the first time.
When the lawyer of Mr Toh, Anthony Lee, said that it was unlikely that a man in his 50’s would make such promises in such a short time, accusing her of lying, she said that he claimed to have stomach cancer and that he wanted to live life to the fullest while he still could.
She added, “He wanted a happy life with me, I was the woman in his heart,” she said.
The couple met in November 2016 when Mr Toh reached out regarding a business matter to Ms Jiang, who is a property agent. They started a relationship and between December 2016 and January 2017, Mr Toh gave Ms Jiang a total of S$2 million.
He has since asked her to give the money back, but she claims it was a gift, while he said it was a loan.
The court heard that on December 19, 2016, Mr Toh signed a agreement lending Ms Jiang S$200,000 for the purpose of buying property. But on that day, according to Ms Jiang they had sex for the first time, after which he tore up the agreement and told her the loan was waived.
By January 12, while she and Mr Toh were at the Temple, he promised to buy her a house and support her.
Mr Lee cross-examined Ms Jiang, seeking to portray her as a person fixated on money, which her lawyer, Mahesh Rai, objected to.
The presiding judge, Andrew Ang, told the court that what is important is determining whether the money Mr Toh had given Ms Jiang was a gift or a loan.
Mr Lee questioned Ms Jiang concerning her financial state, saying that her stated income of S$8,000 a month in 2016 could not have totalled her declared income of S$700,000.
He implied that she declared an inflated amount in order to obtain loans from banks so she could purchase more properties.
The court heard that as of December 2016, she owed the amount of S$675,000 to multiple banks due to unsecured loans.
At the hearing, the wife of Mr Toh, Chong Lee Yee, testified on her husband’s behalf. She had discovered in March 2017 that her husband had given Ms Jiang money, and she then told him to ask to be paid back.
She told the court, “I told my husband this woman is out to cheat you.”
Mrs Chong showed photos of the chat messages between the former lovers that she had taken, unbeknownst to them. Some of which she told the court included photos of Ms Jiang naked, but the judge said she did not need to show these pictures. -/TISG
Mistress sued by businessman for over S$2million he calls it a loan, she calls it a gift