A man who was rejected by a woman has taken it very much to heart and launched two lawsuits against her, claiming she has caused "trauma" to his life and "damaged" his reputation.
Mr K. Kawshigan, from Singapore, met Ms Nora Tan in 2016 and they became friends over time – but he wanted more.
In September 2020 it became clear that they weren't on the same page because Mr Kawshigan saw her as "his closest friend" and wanted a deeper relationship, while Ms Tan saw him as "only" a friend.
Ms Tan thought it would be best if they reduce the amount of time they spent together and she made it clear she felt the need for clear "boundaries". She also urged him to be "self-reliant".
Mr Kawshigan didn't take kindly to this and threatened legal action. On October 22 he threatened to sue her for "monetary damages arising from negligent infliction of emotional distress and possible defamation".
The woman tried to reason with her friend, and told him in a text that her "discomfort (was) genuine", but he gave her an ultimatum. He said that she would need to "comply with his demands" to deepen their relationship of suffer "irrevocable damage to her personal and professional endeavours," The Straits Times reports.
In order to try to settle their differences outside of court, Ms Tan agreed to go to counselling, but after 18 months of trying, they still couldn't see eye to eye.
She began harassment proceedings against Mr Kawshigan, and in response to this he sent her a text which alluded to a potential claim against her.
Ms Tan then tried to cut contact completely because she "could no longer deal with his requests for increased interaction and his inability to respect her personal boundaries".
After she cut contact, Mr Kawshigan threatened to sue her for $3million (£2.6m) in High Court for allegedly causing "damage to his stellar reputation" and "trauma, depression and impacts" to his life. In addition to this, he filed a lawsuit for $22,000 (£17.8k) in magistrates court for allegedly breaching their agreement to try to improve their relationship.
He claimed that he had lost earnings capacity and business partnerships because of their awkward friendship. He also reportedly asked to be remunerated for the costs incurred in the rehabilitation and therapy programmes.
However, it didn't go Mr Kawshigan's way as in January this year the court found that his second, smaller claim was "manifestly groundless and without foundation".
The State Courts deputy registrar Lewis Tan said: "Considered in totality, I find that the present action was intentionally initiated by the claimant with the ulterior motive of vexing or oppressing the defendant by requiring her to defend various claims that fundamentally stem from the same factual matrix in different forums.
"This court will not be an accessory to his calculated attempt to compel engagement from the defendant who, after years of massaging the claimant's unhappiness, has finally decided to stand up to his threats rather than cower and give in to his demands."
The £3.6m High Court claim is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on February 9.
