WHEN a 25-year-old woman found out that her boyfriend had a wife back in China, she wanted to break up with him.

But the man, Yang Guo Rong, 35, refused to let her go and instead pulled her into the sea at East Coast Park in an attempt to end their lives together.

The woman, Vietnamese national Dang Thi Tho, 25, was rescued by passers-by but her boyfriend, Chinese national Yang Guo Rong, 35, drowned. His body was found floating 15m from the shoreline nearly 12 hours later.

State Coroner Earnest Lau recorded a verdict of suicide at an inquiry into the Yang's death on Thursday.

Court documents said that Ms Dang met Yang, who reeked of alcohol, in Ang Mo Kio on Aug 4.

Yang, who came to Singapore in April 2004 on a social visit pass was staying here illegally.

He then asked Ms Dang, who was here on a social visit pass, to move in with him but she refused. Later when the couple went to East Coast Park, Yang raised the matter but she turned him down once again.

She had instead wanted to end their relationship after she found out that Yang was already married and had a wife in China.

Devastated, Yang pulled her into the water in an attempt to end their lives but Ms Dang resisted and later passed out.

Witnesses said they heard her repeatedly shouting 'No' in Mandarin before both of them disappeared in the waters.

Some passers-by ran into the water to save them and managed to pull Ms Dang back to shore, but Yang was nowhere to be found.

His body was found floating in the water the next morning, about 200m away from where he walked into the sea, by passers-by.