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LET us settle this through mediation.
This is the message national paddler Li Jiawei has for her ex-fiance Ronald Susilo, in the wake of The Sunday Times report that he was mulling legal action against her.
The national shuttler reportedly wanted to recover between $50,000 and $100,000 he claimed he had put into buying their car and condominium unit.
Li's response: A press conference at her lawyer's office in Chinatown yesterday, when she offered to resolve the matter through a "mutually agreed third party".
In a translated media statement, the 24-year-old said: "This will prevent this personal disagreement from descending into a public circus, which I trust is not what either of us wants.
"I will cooperate fully with the third party mediator and I hope he will too," she added.
Li, who captains the national women's table tennis team, said she made the offer so that both their preparations for the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will not be affected.
| I WISH to express my views on the break-up and money issues as follows:
It is a private matter between the two of us and I hope the comment attributed to Ronald Susilo in The Straits Times, that he also views it as a private matter and declines to comment further in public, is true. I intend to let the matter remain private so long as the desire to do so is sincere, as I believe it is the dignified and proper way to deal with the ending of personal relationships.
I wish to set the record straight without going into personal details. Ronald knows the reason which triggered the break-up. As for the car and the condominium... these two items have been highlighted out of the context of the wider relationship as a whole. We both know full well who has been generous with regards to money issues and gifts, and why the car and condominium apartment were purchased in my name alone, especially since I don't drive.
I am prepared to have a mutually agreed third party mediate in our disagreement in private and in confidence.
This will also prevent this personal agreement from descending into a public circus, which I trust is not what either of us wants. I will cooperate fully with the third-party mediator and I hope he will, too.
The mediation offer is not to be viewed as a sign of weakness. In the event that my offer of mediation is not taken up and legal action is resorted to and unreasonable demands are made, I will contest the suit vigorously and let the truth decide who has been right and wrong.
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The identity of the mediator was not revealed, though she said she had "one or two" people in mind who know both her and Susilo well enough.
But Li's olive branch also carried with it a stark warning: Sue me and I will fight.
"The mediation offer should not be viewed as a sign of weakness," she said. "In the event it is not taken up and legal action is resorted to and unreasonable demands are made, I will contest the suit vigorously and let the truth decide who has been right or wrong."
Seated by her lawyer Raymond Lye from Pacific Law Corporation, Li appeared calm and composed during the session with reporters.
It was the first time she had met the media publicly to discuss her dispute with Susilo, as well as their 51/2-year relationship, which ended in January.
The China-born paddler had previously questioned if Susilo's claims were timed to scupper her Olympic chances.
In yesterday's statement, she again alluded that there were darker motives behind The Sunday Times report.
"I express great disappointment at the people who have decided to use the media to put pressure on me to further their own ends," she said.
"I have cried countless times after the break-up as it was very hard on me. I am sure these people know it and I believe that is why they have done what they did."
In Sunday's article, it was said that Susilo had paid the bulk of the monthly instalments of the car they bought together at $80,000.
The 28-year-old shuttler was also believed to have spent between $50,000 and $100,000 on the apartment they had purchased at more than $600,000.
In response, Li said her views on the car and the property "differ greatly" from the report - but did not go into details.
"These two items have been highlighted out of the context of the relationship as a whole," she said.
"We both know full well who has been generous with regard to money issues and gifts, and why the car and apartment were purchased in my name alone, especially since I don't drive."
According to Lye, Susilo has yet to send any legal letters to Li.
When contacted yesterday, the Indonesia-born star welcomed Li's proposal, though he said he had not been informed about it.
"Personally, I haven't heard anything about this," he said.
"If that's her decision, I am open to the move, as I hope to still keep this a private matter. I hope she will contact me directly with regard to the mediation."
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