S'porean man who posed as pilot made to repay ex-girlfriend S$321,000, tried claiming she gave him money out of 'love & affection'

A Singaporean man borrowed a large sum of money from his girlfriend, but when they broke up, he refused to return the money and she brought the matter to court.

On Sep. 24 2026, the High Court ruled in favour of the claimant, Teow Seok Phen, ordering her ex-boyfriend, Chee Wei Jun, to repay her S$321,116.40.

Chee was unable to prove, as per his argument, that the money was not loaned to him but "gifted" "out of love and affection".

Instead, he was found to have presented himself as an individual of higher status and affluence and claimed he had his bank account frozen due to a scam, which motivated her to lend him the money.

Exhausting her funds

According to a Sep. 24 judgment, Teow, a Malaysian citizen and Singapore Permanent Resident, was working as a finance manager.

She met Chee, who was a tuition teacher and cafe worker, in June 2023 on dating app Coffee Meets Bagel.

When they first met, Chee told Teow that he was "in aviation", making himself out to be an airline pilot.

He further told her he had several hundred thousand dollars in his bank account and that his father owned several businesses in Singapore and Malaysia.

Sometime during the course of their relationship, he told her that his bank account was frozen after he unwittingly clicked on a fraudulent link and had been scammed.

As a result, he claimed that he did not have enough funds for his daily expenses, and requested she lend him money, promising to repay her once his bank account issues were resolved.

Teow then began giving him various sums of money on different occasions, via PayNow transfers as well as in cash.

Though he made some partial repayments to her, the outstanding cash balance still stood at S$268,794.

She also allowed him to use her credit card — Teow alleged that Chee incurred S$89,945.16 in expenses after accounting for interest and bank fees.

She told the court that the money she gave him included almost all her savings, cash advances and balance transfers from her credit cards.

By December 2023, Teow received letters from banks chasing for the payment of her credit card bills.

Between February and March 2024, Teow revealed to her family what had transpired, and they demanded to Chee that he repay her the money.

He then signed several documents in which he acknowledged receiving money from Teow and agreed to pay back the debt.

However, he did not do so, prompting Teow to bring him to court.

Loans, not gifts

Although Chee argued that Teow understood his financial difficulties, and that the money was given to him as gifts and not loans, the judge dismissed his argument.

When cross-examined, Chee said that the transactions were a "grey area" and that the two did not talk about it.

The judge found this behaviour to be maintaining "deniability because it allowed him to evade his obligations when it suited him."

Meanwhile, Teow produced WhatsApp messages between her and Chee that showed his multiple promises of repayment.

One message sent by Chee said that he was "touched and embarrassed" by the help, and promised to "fully repay" her.

Another message sent on Jan. 7, 2024 found Chee declaring, "I can pay you back every penny".

In response to this, Chee said that when he told Teow he would "pay it back", he meant that he would pay her back in kind, such as through bringing her out for meals.

The judge was not convinced, questioning why he had partially repaid some of the sums in money if that were the case.

Chee was also found to be an "evasive" witness by the judge, after he refused to take a firm stance on whether or not certain numbers mentioned in the WhatsApp messages referred to money.

Chee even denied using Teow's credit cards, claiming he had "no recollection" of using it other than one occasion when he hosted friends from Taiwan.

On the other hand, the judge found that Teow had clearly stated her expectations that she was to be repaid.

She even kept a record of the amounts lent to Chee, with the judge remarking that there would have been no need to do so if she had intended the sums to be given as gifts.

Not a rich man's son

The judge also found that Chee had given Teow the impression that he was more affluent that he actually was, which partially motivated her to agree to lend him money.

Aside from telling her that he was an airline pilot and his father was wealthy, Chee also claimed that he was a "VIP" at certain hotels and establishments.

Chee however, told the court that these remarks were innocuous, saying for instance that "for Haidilao... Everyone is a VIP".

"Crucially, what the Defendant does not explain is why he made these statements of his supposed elevated status if not to impress [Teow]," the judge said.

Was he pressured to sign the agreement?

Chee also claimed that he had signed the documents agreeing to repay Teow under duress, as Teow was holding their relationship hostage.

He told the court that her brother had connections to the underworld in Penang and threatened to hurt him.

He also produced a letter from a counselling psychologist, stating that he was suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder.

However, it was later revealed that Teow's brother never made threats to Chee and that his claim was a fabrication.

The judge found that Chee was not under illegitimate pressure when signing the documents, as he had access to legal counsel when going over the agreement.

Tallying up the sum

Teow was eventually found to have given Chee bank transfers and cash sums amounting to S$268,794, after taking into account the amounts that he repaid. 

Though he disputed the sum, the judge accepted this amount based on her bank statements and documentary evidence.

As for the credit card charges, the agreed amount owed sat at S$87,322.40 after accounting for a previous discrepancy made by Teow.

Chee argued that of this amount, he should not have been liable for the credit card interest and fees of S$4,045.99, as Teow had "failed to mitigate her loss".

The judge struck down his argument, saying that Chee did not show what Teow could have possibly done to avoid the fees and interest after she had already exhausted her credit limits.

Adding up the two amounts owed and subtracting S$35,000 that Chee repaid in March 2024, the final amount owed came up to S$321,116.40.