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'I DON'T' ON D-DAY
DUMPED, HE FELT DUPED
Clerk loses allowance after Viet bride backs out
By Crystal Chan
May 25, 2009
U-TURN: Mr Joseph Pereira (right) and Miss Yinh, who backed out of the marriage saying that she couldn't bear to leave her family. PICTURE: COURTESY OF VIETNAM BRIDE INTERNATIONAL
HE was all set to marry a Vietnamese girl who caught his eye during a matchmaking tour to Ho Chi Minh City early this month.
Mr Joseph Pereira, mid-30s, proposed, and Miss Yinh, 21, accepted. They had their wedding photos taken, with both of them dressed in traditional Vietnameseoutfits.
He even gave her an allowance of 4.9 million dong ($400) since she was about to be his wife.
Then, on15 May, a day before she was to fly off with him to Singapore to get married, she dumped him.
But not before spending most of the allowance that Mr Pereira had given her.
'I thought of making a police report there because I felt cheated but I just decided to let it go in the end,' said Mr Pereira.
He said he decided to approach a matchmaking agency to look for a foreign bride because he had difficulty finding a Singaporean one.
'Singaporean girls are very demanding. They want the five Cs and some of them are haughty,' said Mr Pereira, a clerk who earns about $1,500 a month.
So he approached Vietnam Brides International in Orchard Plaza, and paid $8,800 from his savings to go on a matchmaking tour to Ho Chi Minh City earlier this month.
When the 30 girls were presented to Mr Pereira, Miss Yinh said she was interested in him and he settled on her.
He recounted: 'I asked the girls: 'Who is interested in me?' and Yinh said she wanted to marry me.
'I settled on her. I'm a resolute person and I thought everything would be fine if she loved me.'
But he could not bring her back immediately as she did not have a passport.
It would be two weeks before Miss Yinh's passport was ready.
Last Wednesday , Mr Pereira flew to Ho Chi Minh City to take Miss Yinh back to Singapore.
He stayed with Miss Yinh's farmer parents.
Mr Pereira said: 'The agent there told me I should give her whatever Vietnamese currency I had, as I would have no need for the money later.'
But two days later , she told Mr Pereira she wanted to call off the wedding, saying she couldn't bear to leave her family.
Mr Pereira said: 'She said: 'Sorry, it's all my fault'. It was a decision she made and I respected it.'
Miss Yinh did not return the allowance he had given her. She said that she had already spent most of it.
Mr Pereira said: 'Since Yinh didn't love me, it was better that she told me earlier. It'd be too late if she said so after we got married.'
Fortunately for him, his trip to Vietnam was not wasted.
Mr Mark Lin, who runs Vietnam Brides International, flew to Ho Chih Minh city and helped arrange for another bride for Mr Pereira.
Replacement
Mr Pereira said the next day, he was introduced to Miss Thi Bach Hue, 20.
He said: 'Hue was interested in me. She just wanted to marry me and she didn't ask for money.
'I'm not choosy. It's better that the woman loves me instead of me pursuing a girl who isn't interested in me.'
Mr Pereira flew home with Miss Thi on Monday. They will get married next month.
Mr Lin said that Mr Pereira isn't his first client to be duped by a Vietnamese bride.
Another client was rejected by three Vietnamese girls, each backing out of the marriage after they received their personal allowances.
Mr Lin said: 'Men seek Vietnamese brides because they are homely, but there are a few who back out of marriages after prospective husbands give them money to spend.'
However, agents specialising in Vietnamese brides say cases where the girls call off the weddings are rare. It is usually the men who change their minds, they said.
Mr Janson Ong, owner of Life Partner Matchmaker, said that the men who back out usually did so because of money issues.
'I DON'T' ON D-DAY
DUMPED, HE FELT DUPED
Clerk loses allowance after Viet bride backs out
By Crystal Chan
May 25, 2009
U-TURN: Mr Joseph Pereira (right) and Miss Yinh, who backed out of the marriage saying that she couldn't bear to leave her family. PICTURE: COURTESY OF VIETNAM BRIDE INTERNATIONAL
HE was all set to marry a Vietnamese girl who caught his eye during a matchmaking tour to Ho Chi Minh City early this month.
Mr Joseph Pereira, mid-30s, proposed, and Miss Yinh, 21, accepted. They had their wedding photos taken, with both of them dressed in traditional Vietnameseoutfits.
He even gave her an allowance of 4.9 million dong ($400) since she was about to be his wife.
Then, on15 May, a day before she was to fly off with him to Singapore to get married, she dumped him.
But not before spending most of the allowance that Mr Pereira had given her.
'I thought of making a police report there because I felt cheated but I just decided to let it go in the end,' said Mr Pereira.
He said he decided to approach a matchmaking agency to look for a foreign bride because he had difficulty finding a Singaporean one.
'Singaporean girls are very demanding. They want the five Cs and some of them are haughty,' said Mr Pereira, a clerk who earns about $1,500 a month.
So he approached Vietnam Brides International in Orchard Plaza, and paid $8,800 from his savings to go on a matchmaking tour to Ho Chi Minh City earlier this month.
When the 30 girls were presented to Mr Pereira, Miss Yinh said she was interested in him and he settled on her.
He recounted: 'I asked the girls: 'Who is interested in me?' and Yinh said she wanted to marry me.
'I settled on her. I'm a resolute person and I thought everything would be fine if she loved me.'
But he could not bring her back immediately as she did not have a passport.
It would be two weeks before Miss Yinh's passport was ready.
Last Wednesday , Mr Pereira flew to Ho Chi Minh City to take Miss Yinh back to Singapore.
He stayed with Miss Yinh's farmer parents.
Mr Pereira said: 'The agent there told me I should give her whatever Vietnamese currency I had, as I would have no need for the money later.'
But two days later , she told Mr Pereira she wanted to call off the wedding, saying she couldn't bear to leave her family.
Mr Pereira said: 'She said: 'Sorry, it's all my fault'. It was a decision she made and I respected it.'
Miss Yinh did not return the allowance he had given her. She said that she had already spent most of it.
Mr Pereira said: 'Since Yinh didn't love me, it was better that she told me earlier. It'd be too late if she said so after we got married.'
Fortunately for him, his trip to Vietnam was not wasted.
Mr Mark Lin, who runs Vietnam Brides International, flew to Ho Chih Minh city and helped arrange for another bride for Mr Pereira.
Replacement
Mr Pereira said the next day, he was introduced to Miss Thi Bach Hue, 20.
He said: 'Hue was interested in me. She just wanted to marry me and she didn't ask for money.
'I'm not choosy. It's better that the woman loves me instead of me pursuing a girl who isn't interested in me.'
Mr Pereira flew home with Miss Thi on Monday. They will get married next month.
Mr Lin said that Mr Pereira isn't his first client to be duped by a Vietnamese bride.
Another client was rejected by three Vietnamese girls, each backing out of the marriage after they received their personal allowances.
Mr Lin said: 'Men seek Vietnamese brides because they are homely, but there are a few who back out of marriages after prospective husbands give them money to spend.'
However, agents specialising in Vietnamese brides say cases where the girls call off the weddings are rare. It is usually the men who change their minds, they said.
Mr Janson Ong, owner of Life Partner Matchmaker, said that the men who back out usually did so because of money issues.
