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A 64-year-old man in Singapore now has to deal with growing medical bills and a host of medical conditions after his relationship with a 50-year-old Malaysian woman resulted in him getting attacked by her ex.

What happened

Chen Guosheng (all names in hanyu pinyin) told Shin Min Daily News (SMDN) that he got to know the woman at a Yishun coffeeshop, where she worked at a drink stall. He asked her to move in with him after they started dating.

What Chen didn't know was that his then-girlfriend had unresolved relationship issues with 72-year-old Zhuo Jianting.

"I didn't expect that (Zhuo) would come to my house to make trouble a few weeks after she moved in," Chen told the Chinese daily. "I wasn't aware of her dating history or if she had a boyfriend. I asked her to move in with me in the hopes that I'd be able to help her save on rent."

Chen let on that he used to buy her meals and would give her amounts of up to S$100 when she asked for money.

The harassment

According to SMDN, the woman initiated a breakup with Zhuo in May 2020. Although the deliveryman tried to salvage the relationship on multiple occasions, she kept rejecting him and told him that she had a new boyfriend.

The new boyfriend was Chen.

As Zhuo wanted to scare off his rival in love, he started to follow his ex and found out where Chen lived. Zhuo hatched a plan to commit arson after he heard from the woman that Chen goes to bed early.

On Oct. 13, 2020 at 10:50pm, Zhuo arrived at Chen's house, where the latter was fast asleep. Zhuo brought along metal wire, a pair of pants and a lighter. He first used the wire to ensure that the metal door gate could not be opened, then placed the pair of pants in front of Chen's door and set it on fire. Zhuo left after doing so.

Chen's neighbour extinguished the fire with a pail of water before calling the police.

After the incident, Zhuo continued to get rejected by the woman, who told him that she was "very happy" with Chen. Enraged, Zhuo decided to teach Chen a lesson.

On Nov. 11, 2020 at 12:10pm, he took an 18-inch wood plank with him and waited near Chen's home.

After seeing Chen see the woman off in a taxi, Zhuo went up to the floor where Chen lived, and started attacking him once he stepped out of the lift.

Zhuo hit Chen's feet with the plank, and Chen retaliated by pushing Zhuo to the floor and sitting on the older man. Undeterred, Zhuo hit Chen repeatedly with the plank as he attempted to force his love rival to move off him.

Chen, who was bleeding by the head from the attacks, unpinned Zhuo and the latter fled the scene.

Zhuo was sentenced to 4 years and 11 years imprisonment on Jun. 13, 2022, after pleading guilty to one count of mischief by fire and one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons.

The aftermath

It has been over a year since the attack, but Chen is still on the road to recovery.

He told SMDN that he has been unable to continue working at a ban mian store where he previously helped out, as he experiences numbness on his left side. He also has difficulty speaking and suffers from epileptic symptoms, among other conditions.

Chen added that he has used up more than S$100,000 which he had in his CPF account for his treatment, and is now trying to think of alternative ways to pay for his bills. He claims Zhuo has not compensated him in any way, and that he now relies on his mother for money.

The woman has since moved out of Chen's home, and she sent him a curt "forget about me" message when he told her that he had fallen from his bed.

He mused, "Getting to know others is part of fate. You must learn how to let go of things, so that even if you get hurt or break up, you won't feel sad or have any regrets."

Top photos by Shin Min Daily News.