It is usually the wives who end up paying for their husbands' infidelity. 

But in this unusual case, it was the man's Chinese mistress who handed over S$40,000 to her Singaporean lover. She knew the money would go to maintaining his family in Singapore.

The man, a labourer in his thirties, is married to another woman in Singapore and has three children, aged eight to 14 years. He earns about $1,000 a month.

His mistress is a 34-year-old woman from Guangdong, China who earns about 7,000 yuan (S$1,600) a month in her administrator job.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the pair got married in China recently. Both parties have known each other for about eight years.

The man said that he first met the Chinese national at a local hospital in Singapore in 2001. They kept in touch and ended up as lovers.

He also added that he had stood as a guarantor for his Chinese wife to come to Singapore to study in 2004.

The man said: "My girlfriend treats me very well. She bought me clothes, even though she was then a student."

He also admitted that it was his Chinese national lover who helped him tide over his cashflow problems when he had trouble in keeping up with his family expenses, as his income does not sufficiently support his family.

He says that she had lent him money that came from her savings, as well as loans that she obtained from her father.

In the end, he emphasised that "we truly love each other."

The man's Singaporean wife told Shin Min that her husband was ordered by the Family Court to cough up $800 a month in child support and is also required to supplement the family's household expenses.

But he stopped paying child support in July 2007, and he owes over ten thousand dollars in child support to date.

The wife said she is unwilling to seek a divorce for the children's sake.

But the man replied to Shin Min saying that he has passed the required sum of money to his daughter. He also claimed that his current financial situation was  not good and could not afford child support at the moment.

He said: "I used to give my (Singaporean) wife my entire salary. I have been supporting the family these past few years. How could she have no money?"