SINGAPORE: A woman has been ordered by the High Court to repay her friend S$466,700 after three years of offering absurd excuses to delay repaying her loans.
The lender, Ms Natasha Mak-Levrion, initially sought the return of S$525,200 of debt but could only provide evidence for S$487,700 in transactions. After considering S$21,000 that had already been repaid, the court determined that Ms Mak-Levrion is owed S$466,700, as reported by The Straits Times.
Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal cited a famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a written judgement on Aug 15: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.” The judge noted that this timeless wisdom had, unfortunately, played out in this case.
“One friend’s seemingly endless generosity and misplaced (and misguided) trust was callously exploited by the other, and when it came time to pay up, all that the other party could do was doggedly evade, ignore and resist while concomitantly coming up with excuses to borrow more and more, on the patently unsustainable and impossibly optimistic hope that the time to repay would simply never arrive,” he noted.
“That time has now come,” he added.
The two women crossed paths in 2016 when Ms Mak-Levrion’s firm was hired by Ms Shiamala’s company.
Ms Mak-Levrion is a director and shareholder of a consultancy based in Singapore, while Ms Shiamala was previously a director and sole shareholder of a Singapore-registered company.
In February 2016, Ms Mak-Levrion noticed Ms Shiamala sitting by herself, appearing distressed. Ms Shiamala then confided in her, sharing personal issues and complaints about her husband. Afterwards, they continued to stay in touch, primarily discussing Ms Shiamala’s personal life.
On March 14, 2016, Ms Shiamala reached out to Ms Mak-Levrion, asking for a loan to manage her company’s cash flow issues. That same day, Ms Mak-Levrion provided that first loan.
Over the next three years, Ms Mak-Levrion provided 43 loans to Ms Shiamala, ranging from S$1,000 to S$35,000, all supported by documents submitted to the court. These included 800 pages of WhatsApp messages, cheque stubs, bank statements, and IOUs.
The growing number of loans eventually strained Ms Mak-Levrion’s finances and put pressure on her marriage. Meanwhile, Ms Shiamala offered a series of reasons for her inability to repay the loans, including claims of personal tragedies such as the deaths of her four brothers and a nephew, and the paralysis of a niece.
On June 24, 2021, Ms Mak-Levrion requested that Ms Shiamala sign an acknowledgment of debt, in front of two witnesses, confirming she owed S$525,200. When no payment was made, Ms Mak-Levrion hired lawyers from Arul Chew & Partners to recover the debt, filing a lawsuit on April 21, 2023.
In her initial defence submitted on May 12, 2023, Ms Shiamala admitted to borrowing from Ms Mak-Levrion but disputed the total amount, claiming it was higher than what she recalled. Ms Mak-Levrion later responded with a detailed court filing in December 2023.
However, Ms Shiamala later claimed in March 19, 2024 that the money was not a loan but an investment by Ms Mak-Levrion in her business.
The judge noted that Ms Shiamala’s sudden change of position appeared to be an attempt to avoid responsibility for her debt. On the witness stand, Ms Shiamala claimed the funds were a combination of personal loans and business investments but did not provide supporting documents or messages.
In contrast, Ms Mak-Levrion’s account was consistent with the documentary evidence provided.
Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal pointed out that many of the WhatsApp messages between the two women explicitly referred to borrowing money, with no mention of any investment arrangement. He added that Ms Shiamala’s “impressive line of successive excuses” was simply a broader attempt to avoid repaying her debts. /TISG
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