Man sues woman for £1.9million in Singapore after she rejected him

A man has sued a woman for £1.9million in Singapore over ’emotional trauma’ after she refused to be his girlfriend following the pair’s four-year friendship.

K Kawshigan, a director at drone company D1 Racing, filed two lawsuits against Nora Tan Shu Mei after she rejected him, alleging her actions damaged his ‘stellar reputation’ and caused him to lose at least five business partnerships.

Ms Tan has filed a counter-suit in which she is seeking money that she says she spent on securing her home from Mr Kawshigan and on counselling sessions.

The woman says she had to install a digital door viewer, an alarm sensor and a smart video doorbell to protect herself from the unwanted suitor, and is seeking about £900 in total to cover the costs of the equipment and future counselling.

K Kawshigan (pictured), a director at drone company D1 Racing, filed two lawsuits against Nora Tan Shu Mei after she rejected him, alleging her actions damaged his ‘stellar reputation’ and caused him to lose at least five business partnerships

He initially sued Ms Tan for 22,000 Singapore dollars (roughly £13,700) claiming she ‘breached an agreement’ to improve their relationship, but this was thrown out by the magistrates’ court, which called it an abuse of process.

The court said it would not be an accessory to Mr Kawshigan’s ‘calculated attempt to compel engagement’ from Ms Tan, CNA reported.

Now, however, Mr Kawshigan is suing Ms Tan for 3million Singapore dollars (£1.9m) in the Singapore High Court for a variety of damages he claims she caused him, including trauma he says he suffered when she told him she only saw him as a friend.

A Singapore High Court listing says the case is scheduled for February 9.

The pair met in 2016 and became friends. It is understood they were both members of the Rotary Club of Bugis Junction.

However, Ms Tan said their friendship began to fall apart when they ‘became misaligned about how they saw their relationship’. 

Ms Tan said she told Mr Kawshigan that she saw him only as a friend, but that he considered her his ‘closest friend’. Ms Tan later said she wished to reduce their social interactions.

Mr Kawshigan, who is a director at drone racing company D1 Racing, has accused Ms Tan of defamatory conduct against him in June 2019 and December 2020.

According to Channel News Asia, a magistrates’ court judgment published on January 28 shows that Mr Kawshigan filed two lawsuits against Ms Tan after their friendship broke down when she told him that she only saw him as a friend. Pictured: The promenade at Marina bay in Singapore

He says she made false allegations, and other parties present overheard their conversations. He claims Ms Tan told him she was feeling harassed by his actions, which included standing in her way on a doorstep.

Mr Kawshigan also claims she defamed him by stating loudly: ‘He is unnecessarily serving court documents to me personally and he has not tried other ways available to him.’

He said she was speaking close to a microphone in July 2022, and was therefore heard by other nearby people.

He claims Ms Tan’s actions caused damage to his ‘stellar reputation’ and had resulted in ‘trauma’ and ‘depression’ over the past two years.

He also claims he has lost five business partnerships as a result of the ongoing disagreements, and that he now struggles to win new clients.

In her countersuit – seen by CNA – Ms Tan has denied large parts of Mr Kawshigan’s claims, according to the news outlet.

From November 2016 to September 2020, she says they began to have arguments and differing opinions, which damaged their relationship.

This was when she asked to have less communication and meetings with him, she says, and she told Mr Kawshigan that they were only friends when he asked her to clarify the state of their friendship.

After this, she says she did not respond to mediation requests.

A Singapore High Court listing says the case is scheduled for February 9. Pictured: A walkway at The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore (file photo)

In October 2020, she says she found out Mr Kawshigan appeared outside her home, saying that he had filed court documents against her.

Ms Tan also says she was contacted by a woman claiming to be Mr Kawshigan’s counsellor. Ms Tan says she participated in joint counselling sessions with Mr Kawshigan and the woman until May 2021. Similarly, she agreed to take part in joint ‘healing’ sessions that started in November 2021 and ran until May 2022, after she was contacted by someone claiming to be Mr Kawshigan’s healer. 

Mr Kawshigan’s high court suit was filed when Ms Tan said she did not want to speak to him any longer, which he reportedly said ‘forced him to escalate’.

Ms Tan says she was later contacted by a journalist about a high court case, having also been sent emails from people claiming to be Mr Kawshigan’s lawyers.

She also says Mr Kawshigan turned up outside her house in July 2022 with a woman, and refused to leave when she told him to.

Much of this, she says, was intended to cause her harassment and distress, and to force her into communicating with him. Her lawyers are using the ‘fair comment’ defence over her supposedly defamatory comments, CNA said.