Renovation Contractor Successfully Sued Friend of Over 20 Years for $1.62m ‘Interest-Free’ Loan

By
Avery
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Eh, bro, mind giving me an interest-free loan?

You mean you want to borrow money from me? Sure, how much?

$1.62 million, and I won’t pay you back until you sue me in Court.

And that is the conversation to end all friendships. As Teo Yong Soon and Kwan Yuen Heng, friends for more than 20 years, found out last week, according to The Straits Times.

Contractor Ruled to Receive $1.62m from Friend

Mr Teo, who set up his own business some time before 1999, became friends with Mr Kwan in 1997 and renovated his properties across a period of ten years. 

Mr Teo also partook in a successful investment project headed by Mr Kwan, yielding close to 50% in profits from his S$200,000 principal in a year.

These previous dealings likely led Mr Teo to issue the loans without a written agreement, seeing Mr Kwan as a “brother” who would credibly repay his debts.

Yeah, he totally did. 

Mr Kwan claimed to need the money for investors who withdrew from his projects, for paying salaries, and for the costs of engaging a lawyer.

Mr Teo also agreed to be a guarantor for another S$800,000 that Mr Kwan loaned from illegal moneylenders in Malaysia.

Man, I wish I had a friend who would help me secure S$2.42 million in cash. Or just let me see what millions of dollars in cash would look like.

Instead of marrying Mr Teo there and then, Mr Kwan argued that, by purportedly charging him interest, Mr Teo became an unlicensed moneylender under the law. 

The S$1.62 million loans were therefore unenforceable, according to him.

Worst backstabbing of the century.

Mr Kwan claimed that Mr Teo coerced him for interest payments, threatening to hurt him and his family.

Mr Teo, however, argued that he was merely acting as an intermediary between the Malaysian loan sharks and Mr Kwan. 

High Court judge Chan Seng Onn accepted this explanation and decided that Mr Teo’s overall narrative was more credible. Apparently, Mr Kwan had made a police report himself against Mr Teo in 2018, in which he claimed he had only received S$800,000.

He also added that Mr Kwan had written post-dated cheques—cheques with a future date—for a total amount of S$1.62 million, which was evidence that he had that much money to repay. 

There was also no evidence that any repayment had been made to Mr Teo. Well, now he has to. Wonder where he’ll borrow the money from.

This is a good example of how people only help each other when there’s nothing much to lose. Watch this video to the end and you’ll understand:

Featured Image: mentatdgt/ Shutterstock.com

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

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Avery
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