PUBLISHED ONDecember 28, 2023 10:10 AMByChing Shi JieThere is no price tag on true love for some couples.
After all, "for better or worse, for richer or poorer" - these lines are in the wedding vow.
But this Vietnamese bride matchmaker wants potential suitors to earn at least $4,800 a month to even reach the "talking stage" with his female client.
Taking to Facebook on Monday (Dec 25), B & G Vietnamese Bride Marriage Agency posted that their 17-year-old "client" is looking for a Singaporean husband.
"Looking for guys below 36 years old and earning at least $4,800," they posted, adding that potential suitors have to interact with her for nine months until she is 18 years old before marriage is on the cards.
The post has since garnered over 1,400 comments and was shared on HardwareZone Forum.
Several netizens chided the Vietnamese woman for being "money face".
"She's obviously looking for an ATM," one of them said, while another lamented that there is no such thing as "true love".
Other netizens pointed out that the woman's demands are "realistic".
"There's inflation everywhere," one of them said.
Speaking to AsiaOne on Friday (Dec 28), the founder of the matchmaking agency clarified that he was responsible for setting the requirements on potential suitors for his young Vietnamese client.
This is to ensure that she will be financially secure after marriage.
"I want to make sure guys will not harbour any thoughts that they can easily marry a young girl," Eric Koh, 64, who is in the matchmaking business for five years, said.
"Anyone earning $4,800 will have a take home pay of about $3,800. That's just the bare minimum to support a family as a sole breadwinner. Don't be sour grapes if you can't afford a Vietnamese wife."
Koh takes the "income requirement" seriously - going as far as to check the payslips and bank account statements of men who express their interest on his female clients.
But would he give his blessings if his client gets along with a man who is earning less than $4,800 a month?
"He won't have the chance to get to know her in the first place," he quipped. "I'm the gatekeeper."
"My intention is to help Vietnamese ladies find good husbands. There are too many of them that are married to Singaporeans and end up in divorce. I want to nip this in the bud."