Men are attracted to sweet-looking women. And women seek rich dudes.

In essence, that is how matchmaker Horatio Li (above) sums up the dating game in which he has been involved for more than three decades.

Times may have changed since he started his matchmaking agency in 1979, but what most people look for remains the same.

"Men want attractive-looking women. Women want men with a good financial status," said Mr Li, who claims to have helped thousands of couples in Singapore tie the knot.

Blunt, but true, he nodded sagely.

His traditional matchmaking business thrives, he revealed, because a professional matchmaker like himself scrutinises his clients' claims.

"I ask to see their identity cards, educational certificates, income documents and even bank statements, so as to ensure they are in a healthy financial situation to date," Mr Li revealed.

"It is also my duty to check with the Registry of Marriages on my clients' marital status."

Mr Li, 57, who is married, used to work as an aircraft technician in Japan and in the US in the 1970s.

His experiences there, he said, showed that professionals in the two developed countries simply did not have the time to look for partners.

And he had a gut feel that it would be the same for then-developing Singapore.

On returning here in 1979, Mr Li founded GoodLuck Friendship and Marriage Consultancy.

Spill the beans please, Mr Li, what unusual requests have you had?

Well, there was a widower who sought his help to look for another woman who resembled his late wife, Mr Li revealed.

"The 60-year-old man walked into my office and started pouring out his sorrows to me. He told me that his wife died 10 years ago and he still couldn't get over her death.

"He whipped out a photo of his late wife and pleaded with me to help him look for a woman who resembled her.

"Normally I wouldn't accept such a request. It's not easy to find someone with a certain look. But my heart went out to him."

It took Mr Li close to a year to find someone suitable for the widower. And yes, she looked just like his client's late wife, he said. The couple remain happily married, he added.

Another unusual request came from a terminally ill woman two years ago.

Mr Li recalled: "The woman was 42 and she had lost all her hair as she was suffering from cancer. She was accompanied by her husband to my office.

"She told me that she had only three months to live and asked me to find a good woman to take care of her husband after she died. The husband was 45, an engineer."

Mr Li managed to find a match for the husband before his wife died. She was a single woman, 40, and was working as an administrative executive.

"To be fair to the single woman, I told her about the couple's love story. She was touched and agreed to meet them," Mr Li said. "Six months after the wife died, the man married the other woman." Are there any requests that still surprise the career matchmaker?

Yes. For instance, how he found a 45-year-old woman willing to marry a man close to twice her age. "He told me he was 82 and the first thing I asked him was if he was healthy and if he could still do 'it'," said Mr Li.

"He told me: 'Of course! Why do you think I am looking for a wife?'

"He then showed me his bank book. The retired businessman had $1.6 million cash in his bank." But the elderly man had asked Mr Li to not reveal his financial status to his future partner.

Currently, his youngest client is an 18-year-old student from China, whose mother wanted Mr Li to find a Singaporean boyfriend for her.

Mr Li admits to being choosy about who he accepts.

"My database is filled with pleasant-looking professionals with a certain level of income. Normally I don't accept women who are above 45 years old, unless they look way below their age.

There is no fee per se. Instead his clients give him red packets when they get hitched.

He has one bit of advice for his clients.

"It is most important to find someone with a good personality. And personality is something that I can't check for you."

Secrets of the trade

1. Good looks are a top requirement. Mr Li said he does not accept overweight female clients nor men who earn less than $2,000 a month. From experience, most women want their men to earn at least $3,000 a month.

2. Always hold the first meeting in the matchmaker's office to ensure that both clients meet the right person.

Mr Li said he learned this lesson after a man mistook the intended woman's friend as his date. The friend took a shine to the man's good looks and started chatting him up. The intended woman was sidelined.

3. There are still men who seek only virgins. Mr Li said he declines such clients for two reasons: Scarcity of choice and potential offence. (How would you like it, as a woman, if you were asked this question?)

This article was first published in The New Paper.