Mr Yap Hock Soon is 53 and his wife is 19.

But looking at them, you'd think that such a wide age gap is no barrier to love.

They are affectionate to each other - holding hands and hugging each other while showing off their wedding video to The Sunday Times.

In February, Mr Yap married Ms Ngo Thi Nhan, a petrol attendant from Vietnam.

The divorcee, who has two sons aged 21 and 23, decided to find a new bride when his marriage ended five years ago.

'My sons encouraged me to find someone to take care of me. They are English-educated and very liberal in their thinking,' the director of an electronics company said in Mandarin.

Over the next few years, he made several trips to matchmaking agencies here and screened tens of women, but did not go on any dates or find a suitable match.

In November last year, he met Ms Ngo at Vietnam Brides International, a foreign bride agency in Orchard Plaza.

Mr Yap said it was love at first sight for him. 'It's very hard to explain it. It's just an affinity,' he said.

Ms Ngo was sitting at the agency with about 10 other women, all waiting to be chosen.

A few days later, he called the agency to set up a wedding date with Ms Ngo. She agreed to the marriage through the agency.

During the three months before their wedding, they went out every day, mostly to attractions such as Sentosa and East Coast Park.

Although she could speak only a smattering of Mandarin, they managed to communicate.

Ms Ngo is from a village near the Vietnam-Cambodia border. She is the fourth child in the family and her parents sell noodles.

Her eldest sister, who is in her 20s, also married a foreigner - a Taiwanese.

In February, Mr Yap and his new bride threw a lavish 20-table dinner in her hometown. There was even a concert to entertain the guests.

Mr Yap said he did not buy any other gifts for her family.

In Singapore, they hosted a 10-table dinner for Mr Yap's relatives at Hung Kang restaurant near Hong Lim Park. His ex-wife did not allow their sons to attend.

All in, he said he spent about $20,000 on the matchmaking fees and wedding.

He is applying for permanent residency for Ms Ngo, who is on a long-term visit pass valid for a year.

They live in a condominium in Serangoon with his 93-year-old mother and a maid.

Signs of their newly wed status are evident in their spacious bedroom. The walls are decorated with blown-up pictures from their wedding. Two traditional 'xi' paper cuttings - an emblem used in Chinese weddings - are pasted on the walls.

They still go on dinner dates and enjoy evening walks at East Coast Park.

Even though friends have mistaken her for his daughter, Mr Yap said he is not embarrassed about their age gap.

'When my wife and I go for meals at coffee shops, the men will stare at my wife. But I'm not angry; in fact, I feel very proud because this just shows that she is very beautiful.'

He said he did not set out to marry a young bride.

'I heard that in Vietnam, most women marry young. If you are not married after you are 22, you are considered overaged,' he added.

He would encourage friends to marry foreigners. 'They don't have such high expectations, not like Singaporean women.'

Asked if he is worried that Ms Ngo would leave him when he grows old, he quipped: 'If she doesn't want me, then I change another one, lor.'

They have no plans to have children yet.

'She wants a child but we will go slow. At my age, it will be quite difficult to raise a child. They can be quite a headache.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.