KUCHING: A young man's dream of getting married was shattered and his happy day also turned into a nightmare after being cheated by his 'fiancé' who is apparently married and has two children.
The woman's secret, who was believed to be working as a uniformed member of a government agency, was uncovered after her own aunt revealed the truth.
The revelation was made when the young man and his family arrived at the bride's house on Nov 10, which was supposed to be the wedding day.
What made the young man more disappointed was that he and the woman were engaged on Oct 12 last year in a ceremony here.
The engagement ceremony was held near her sister-in-law's house upon the woman's and her father's request.
He said that all the preparations for the wedding have been made, including giving hantaran to the bride's family, but ended up bearing the loss and shame after being cheated.
The young man suspected something was amiss after his fiancee disappeared without any news on Nov 9, which was the day he and his family arrived at a homestay in Daro, Sarawak.
He also failed to contact the woman who allegedly blocked his phone number.
"We left (from Kuching) at 6am and arrived in Daro at about 5pm.
"Arriving in Daro, we went straight to the homestay already booked by the bride for our group of 22 people in a van and three cars.
"Then, we were surprised when the homestay owner said that no room orders had been received for that date, I called the bride-to-be many times but there was no response.
"As we were tired, we had to pay for the stay with my own money, including other expenses that should be taken care of by the bride. It's no longer a joke to tell my mother that the stay has been taken care of, all that's left is just to come," he wrote in a post on Facebook.
Despite that, the young man tried to think positively by resting and then preparing for the next day's ceremony.
The next morning, the they went to the given address "When we got there, I felt strange because there was no celebration, it was empty! There was no preparation for the ceremony at all.
"I tried to call the bride-to-be and her father, both of them could not be reached. The address is correct, but there is no one at home. Something is definitely wrong.
"We decided to go to the next door neighbor's house, apparently the host is the bride's sister.
"So we told them the purpose of coming and asked about the bride. We asked them if they knew the bride.
They were even more angry and surprised when they told us her real name (another name).
"What was even worse is that the woman is already married and has two children. Her father was also an accomplice in this case because he was not honest from the beginning," he wrote.
He was left with mixed feelings and felt deceived by the woman's actions.
He also did not think how the woman's father was willing to conspire and let his daughter, who was someone's wife and already had two children, betrothed to him.
"It's really 'speechless' (lost for words), disappointed, angry, sad, it's all there, I can't say more. With the loss for the cost of wedding preparations.
The hantaran money has been divided as well. The family's dignity on the other hand," he said.
Being upset with what happened, they lodged a police report.
"I hope the department will take strict action against this member. "Who would dare to keep such problematic staff like this. Even we do not dare to lie.
"Hope there is a firm action taken no matter what, see you in cöourt. "There are many more things she lied about but I can't write them at length here," he wrote, hoping that his sharing could be used as a reminder and a lesson to others.
Harian Metro's efforts to get the man to tell more stories have not been successful with messages sent through Facebook being left answered.
Harian Metro has also contacted the relevant department but has not received an official statement so far.