KUALA LUMPUR — A 53-year-old electrician thought it was a heavenly reunion when he “married” a woman who claimed to be his wife from a past life, but it turned out to be a living nightmare when she cheated him of over RM100,000 (P1.2 million).
The honeymoon period was definitely over for Cho, who just wanted to be left alone as his 45-year-old “wife” known as Lo resorted to threatening him and his family when the money stopped.
The affair started when Cho met Lo and her husband on social media in April last year.
The trio became quick friends.
A few months later, Lo’s husband told Cho that both Lo and Cho were married in a past life, saying that this was “confirmed” by a medium.
He convinced Cho that the reincarnated lovers should remarry so the duo secretly read their vows at Lo’s house in Malacca, without the knowledge of Cho’s legally married wife.
Cho is already married with three children.
Shortly after consummating the “marriage” via weekend visits to Malacca, the extortion began.
Lo claimed she was a member of an underworld triad gang with a leader from Hong Kong, and that she needed to pay a fee of RM27,000 (P326,000) to leave the group.
Cho paid the sum.
Later, Cho also forked out RM40,000 (P483,000) from his Employee Provident Fund (EPF) as down payment for a new house that Lo wanted to buy.
After that, Lo told Cho that she had a heart condition and she needed five injections worth RM15,000 (P181,000) and another RM20,000 (P241,000) for a surgery to save her life.
Cho surrendered his insurance and savings to pay the amount including another RM10,000 (P120,000) for Lo’s various debts with loan sharks and daily expenses.
Eventually in March this year, Cho’s wife found out about the affair and filed for divorce.
Deciding that he should make amends, Cho gave his house and half of his EPF savings, about RM55,000 (P664,000) to her as a settlement of the divorce.
Cho said Lo became angry at his decision and demanded that he take back the money and give it to her instead.
She repeatedly threatened him and his family when he refused.
Fearing for his family’s life, Cho lodged a police report on Sept. 21 at the Pandan Indah police station.
Speaking at a press conference with Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) public services and complaints bureau chief Datuk Seri Michael Chong at Menara MCA yesterday, Cho said he just wanted the nightmare to be over.
“I don’t care about the RM112,000 (P1.4 million) that I lost. I just want her to leave me and my family alone,” he said.