Singapore dating disaster – What price true friendship?

A man is seeking more than US$3 million (100 million baht) from a woman who claims that she just wants to be friends, saying the Singapore dating disaster caused him trauma and damaged his “stellar” reputation.

There is little Thai people enjoy more than a laughable defamation case, and the Singapore dating disaster case being brought by “Kawshigan” promises hours of delight for the kingdom of gossip.

Kawshigan claims the damages are to cover his losses in earnings and investment, as well as rehabilitation and therapy to overcome the trauma, according to today’s Guardian. The lawsuit, to be heard next week, accuses the woman of defamatory remarks and negligent conduct.

A previous case filed by Kawshigan claims the woman breached an agreement to improve their relationship and was recently laughed out of court as “manifestly groundless and without foundation.”

The pair met in 2016 and problems began to arise in 2020 when they became “misaligned” about how they saw their relationship.

Court papers say…

“While the defendant only regarded the claimant as a ‘friend,’ he considered her to be his ‘closest’ friend.”

The woman told Kawshigan to cool down, the judgment said, which made him furiously petulant. He felt this would constitute a step back in their relationship.

The woman participated in counselling for 18 months after Kawshigan previously threatened legal action against her, alleging that the Singapore dating disaster meant he suffered emotional trauma after being told she regarded him only as a friend.

The court went on…

“While the defendant had hoped that the counselling sessions would help the claimant come to terms with her decision to not pursue a romantic relationship with him, this was not the result. Faced with repeated requests and demands for more frequent meetings and deeper conversations, the defendant decided in May 2022 to cease all contact with the claimant.”

The judgment said she spent years “massaging the claimant’s unhappiness” but was now standing up to him. An expedited protection order has been obtained against him, though the woman has still been faced with defending legal cases.

When the Singapore dating disaster prompted her to begin proceedings against Kawshigan, he filed the US$3 million claim against her, due to be heard on February 9.

The court papers add…

“He had harassed and spied on her, and this caused him to suffer ‘damage to his stellar reputation’ as well as ‘trauma, depression and impacts’ to his life. For this, he claimed damages over US$3m, constituting among others ‘indefinite loss of potential investments’ amounting to US$1.2m.”