TWICE, doctors told him he may not live for long - once when he was a child, and then again two years ago.

But private equity investor Alvin Lim, 43, great-grandson of Singapore pioneer Lim Nee Soon, has not only survived, he has now got married.

His bride is a Vietnamese less than half his age, whom he met through a matchmaking agency.

Mr Lim did not succumb to either the blood disorder he has or an infection he got from a hospital.

On 12 Jul, he exchanged vows with Miss Mary Nguyen, 20, in the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. A wedding dinner was held for 88 guests at the Ritz Carlton Millenia the following day.

Mr Lim's great-grandfather was a founder of one of the banks that later merged to form OCBC. He also dabbled in rubber and pineapple planting, was one of the founders of The Chinese High School and was a philanthropist. His statue now stands in Yishun Town Park.

Mr Lim's grandfather, Mr Lim Chong Pang, was also a leader of the Teochew community. He was well-known as a racehorse owner and had three cinemas. A housing estate in Yishun is named after him.

So, couldn't a man with such a lineage find a bride in Singapore itself?

Despite his health problems, Mr Lim has always wanted to get married. And he courted a woman here for 14 years.

He said: 'When I was 22, a friend introduced me to a 25-year-old woman. I felt happy with her and it was not long before I fell in love with her.

'But she kept saying we could only be friends and her busy career left her little time for dates.'

When he did not meet any other woman he found attractive, Mr Lim approached a matchmaking agency, Vietnam Brides International, which introduced Miss Nguyen to him in January.

He said: 'If I wanted a Singaporean woman, I'd have to spend years courting her and I don't know how long I'd have to wait.'

And he decided he couldn't wait any longer.

He told The New Paper on Sunday at his Siglap bungalow: 'Since I was 2, I had been afflicted with thalassaemia intermedia and I always felt tired. Doctors told my mum I would die before I turned 20.'

Thalassaemia is a hereditary disease which reduces the production of red blood cells, causing anaemia.

There are about 100 sufferers in Singapore but figures on the number of people who die from the illness are not available.

A spokesman for the Thalassaemia Society of Singapore said sufferers usually die from complications like insufficient blood in the body and excess iron in the system. They can also have fertility problems as well as liver and heart failure.

She said: 'The illness can be controlled with regular blood transfusions to prevent bone deformities and procedures to remove excess iron. It's still possible for patients to lead normal lives.'

Mr Lim's younger brother, Vincent, died from the illness last year.

Because of his condition, Mr Lim, the eldest of three children, was exempted from physical education lessons in school as well as National Service.

But with intakes of folic acid, he has coped relatively well.

Then, in 2006, he contracted an infection known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) while he was in hospital for gout.

He said: 'My skin turned black and I was hospitalised for two weeks. Doctors said there was a high chance I would die.'

But Mr Lim was determined to live.

Happy at last: Ms Mary Nguyen, 20, with her mother-in-law Lucy lim, 71, on her wedding day.

'When I heard this, I told myself I couldn't die as there were so many things I wanted to do. I wanted to marry and have children,' he said.

And once he recovered, he decided to doit.

He proposed to Miss Nguyen just four days after being introduced to her, though they could only communicate with hand signs, as she spoke only Vietnamese then.

His mother, Mrs Lucy Lim, 71, said: 'He always says he wants to give me eight grandchildren but I told him it's not necessary for him to marry as his illness may be a burden to his wife.

'But he was determined to marry and my husband and I are pleased with Mary. She's a good daughter-in-law who cooks for us and helps us around the house.'

He said: 'Something about her made me like her... I guess that's physical attraction.'

But Miss Nguyen was not sure of her feelings until Mr Lim dated another girl from the agency.

She said in Mandarin, which she has been learing: 'I didn't know if he was the one for me. But when he took the other girl out, I was hurt.

'At that point, I knew I was in love with him.'

When she told Mr Lim of her feelings, he went on his knees and proposed.

The couple registered their marriage on Valentine's Day but spent several months planning the church wedding and banquet.

Miss Nguyen, who helped out in her aunt's clothing business in Vietnam, wore a gown which cost US$875 ($1,193). It was ordered from a US website and shipped in from Salt Lake City.

Mr Lim said: 'I wanted something special and modest. Nowadays, many gowns are like swimsuits as they expose so much of the bride's body.'

The couple leave today on a five-day cruise to Phuket and Bangkok for their honeymoon.

And Mr Lim hasn't lost sight of his aim to have children. He said: 'I hope she'll bear eight children for me.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on July 27, 2008.