Mar 15, 2010
Money given, not loaned
By Selina lum

Details about Dr Tan's (above) relationship with Stephanie Chee Jok Heng, 51, emerged in court when his lawyer cross-examined the woman on the first day of the hearing into her lawsuit. -- ST PHOTO: STEVEN LEE CT

PROMINENT paraplegic athlete William Tan Kian Meng claimed that a woman who is suing him for some $400,000 had given him the money, not lent it to him, as they had been in an 'intimate relationship'.

Details about Dr Tan's relationship with Stephanie Chee Jok Heng, 51, emerged in court when his lawyer cross-examined the woman on the first day of the hearing into her lawsuit.

They had even gone on trysts to hotels, claimed Dr Tan. But Chee, a divorcee with three daughters, flatly denied allegations that they had been lovers and insisted that the two had merely had a 'Christian platonic kind of relationship'.

In her lawsuit, Chee, a former management consultant, is seeking the return of $259,818.24 that she had extended to Dr Tan between 1999 and 2007. These included payments for his car insurance, road tax, life insurance premiums; expenses on his supplementary credit card; and expenses incurred in their business ventures.

Dr Tan, 53, who is single, does not dispute receiving the money, but he claims that many of the payments were 'love gifts' to him. He also contends that Chee had waived her right to the money when she turned down his previous offers to pay her back.

Chee is seeking another $149,858.19 from Dr Tan, claiming he had promised to indemnify her for losses she had made from the sale of an apartment at the One Tree Lodge condominium.