Mr Yap Hock Soon, 53, with his Vietnamese wife Ngo Thi Ngan, 19, in their bedroom. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
WHEN you work 15-hour days, chances are, it is not easy to find a girlfriend. Indeed, that was the case for fruit-seller Soon Sze Han, 46, who logged long, punishing hours at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market.
'Any woman will be scared off by my working hours,' said the 46-year-old.
But he was keen to get married. So, three years ago, Mr Soon, who had never dated, walked into a matchmaking agency to explore the possibility.
Of the three Vietnamese women he met there, he chose one from a village in Ho Chi Minh City. Aged 25, she was 18 years his junior.
'She was the oldest there already. I walked by and she winked at me,' he said.
They married in December 2006 and now live in a three-room flat in Chinatown with his parents.
Matchmaking agencies said such marriages between couples where there is a big age gap are common.
More proof of such unions has come from the National Population Secretariat (NPS).
Last week, it revealed that marriages between men above 40 and non-Singaporean women doubled from 18 per cent in 1998 to 35 per cent last year.
Of these marriages, four-fifths of the brides are aged under 40. Over 90 per cent of them are from Asia, though the NPS did not specify the countries.
