$20k wedding called off after bride and groom fight

It was supposed to be a happy occasion at a wedding banquet in a five-star Sentosa hotel on Saturday night. But things turned sour and only the groom was present - there was no bride.

The groom, who called the wedding off the day before, was said to have entertained guests and was not seated at the main table with family members, but with guests, reported Shin Min Daily News yesterday.

There were also three to four empty tables, believed to be reserved for the bride's guests.

There were 12 tables in all and the groom, who wanted to be known only as Mr Liu, said about $20,000 had been spent.

The 26-year-old told Shin Min that a week before the banquet, he and his fiancee, also 26, got into an argument.

"She slapped me seven times. My shoulder and chest were also bruised by her," he said, adding that the incident upset him and his parents.

His fiancee is pregnant with his child. She told Shin Min that she is four to five months pregnant.

Mr Liu said he met her when he was in a polytechnic and claimed he waited for three years before he was able to win her heart.

After the recent argument, Mr Liu thought things through and made the painful decision to call off the wedding a day before.

"I think the problems between two people need to be worked out first before marriage. So I informed my fiancee about it. But since the wedding banquet had already been arranged, we decided to carry on with it and apologise to the guests," he said, adding that he treated it like a family gathering.

"I've donated the money from the banquet guests' red packets to charity."

Mr Liu said he had bowed in apology to guests on Saturday and read out an apology letter to seek their understanding.

His fiancee said that she had hit Mr Liu only once, and had her reasons for doing so.

"Before the wedding, he (Mr Liu) said again that our marriage would break apart because of our quarrelling. It made me very angry, so I slapped him. My nails had scratched him, but I didn't hit him seven times," she said.

She added that her future in-laws were also difficult. This posed problems for her matrimonial matters and upset her.

"I'm also pregnant so my emotions are not stable. And because of many problems that cropped up, I was very unhappy. I haven't been able to rest well for two weeks."

The fiancee also said she could not imagine that the wedding would still take place.

"He (Mr Liu) only wants my child and doesn't think about marrying me any more. Even if he wanted to, it's one-sided. His parents would not approve," she said, adding that even if she were able to mend things with the groom, the episode would leave a scar on her.

But Mr Liu claimed that he would not give up loving his fiancee even though the wedding has been called off.

"I hope to take her for counselling so that she can better control her emotions and not be so violent. I'm willing to wait for her and have our wedding ceremony," he said.

myp@sph.com.sg

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