August 9, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - A Malaysian man is suing his runaway bride for 1.1 million ringgit ($365,000) after she called off the wedding with just six hours to go, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Civil servant Mohammad Masran Abdul Rahman, 32, is suing hospital technician Norzuliyana Mat Hassan, 28, in the second case of its kind in northern Kelantan state in just two months, his lawyer Latifah Ariffin told AFP.
"The groom had made full preparations and paid for all the food and wedding costs including invitations to over 1,200 guests to attend the wedding," she said.
"Given the last minute cancellation, he ended up paying for a wedding that never took place."
Latifah said the wedding was supposed to be held at the bride's home on June 4 with a reception two days later in the groom's village.
She said that Mohammad Masran was claiming 100,000 ringgit in general damages and 500,000 ringgit each for exemplary and special damages.
Norzuliyana could not be reached for comment.
Last month, a 30-year-old technician sued his bride-to-be for 320,000 ringgit after she cancelled their nuptials via text message a week before the big day, local media reported.
"It looks like such runaway brides are becoming a trend but the damage they are inflicting on the grooms by their very casual cancellations is tremendous," Latifah said.
Religious officials in the state, which is known for its conservative brand of Islam, said such lawsuits were quite rare.
But they said they were monitoring the situation to see what could be done to help salvage relationships in difficulty.
