WHAT do you do when you have cheated on your wife?

Send flowers or chocolates?

Mr Clarence Lee, 36, a sales executive, chose to go public, with an advertisement in The New Paper's Cats Fastads section on Wednesday. In it, he declared his eternal love for his wife, 27, and sought her forgiveness.

'I've never done anything like this before in my life,' he said. 'She always says I don't admit my mistakes, so I'm making a public apology to her now.'

The advertisement, which cost $107, had more than 200 words to his wife of six years.

He wrote, perhaps hoping to impress her more with the gesture than with language skills: 'I'm really sorry deep from the bottom of my heart and I will repent and know my mistake. If I could turn back time I will never do those mistakes again and will cherish you and your love for me.'

Mr Lee cheated on his wife with a karaoke hostess two years ago. At that time, he said he frequented karaoke clubs with his friends and would party late into the night.

'Why did I cheat? I think it was the thrill, but it's something I have regretted ever since,' admitted Mr Lee, sadly.

His infidelity was discovered by his wife, who hired a private investigator to find out why he was keeping so many late nights.

She was seven months pregnant at the time. Recalled Mr Lee: 'She blew her top and wanted a divorce. She also moved out of our home for three days.'

However, Mr Lee said he managed to persuade her to stay on.

But he believes the incident caused his wife to lose trust in him. Even after the affair had ended and Mr Lee no longer kept late nights, his wife continued to be suspicious and would check his phone, he said.

There were good times, nevertheless.

For instance, his wife gave him two stuffed bears holding a red heart with the words 'I Love You' earlier this year, said Mr Lee.

But it seemed as though she could not forget what happened.

In July, to Mr Lee's shock, his wife again asked him for a divorce, telling him she still couldn't put the incident behind her.

This time she insisted. The couple signed their divorce papers two weeks ago and he moved out of the condominium where they had been living with their two children.

Will she change her mind?

Mr Lee, who is staying with a friend now, said with a sigh: 'Although I repented and ended the affair immediately, it was hard for her to put the incident behind her.'

Taking out the advertisement was his last-ditch attempt to get her to change her mind. He said: 'The divorce will take a few months to finalise, so I'm really hoping she can forgive me and take me back.'

His wife has seen the advertisement, but she has not changed her mind - 'yet'.

He said: 'She said she was touched, but it was too late. She told me that she could not afford to have her heart broken again.'

His wife declined to comment.

Counsellors The New Paper spoke to said they haven't come across such a public apology before. Mr Harry Low, senior counsellor at the University Health Centre (The National University of Singapore) said: 'This could be a way in which he could score points, because it lets his wife know he is serious and willing to go to that extent.'

However, he added: 'You need to make ten times the effort to regain the trust. Tell your partner where you are going and inform them if you are late.

'It can be troublesome, but after a betrayal, these actions are necessary.'

Ms Elsie Chua, executive vice-president of Cats Classified (Marketing Division) at Singapore Press Holdings said though public apologies usually involve legal issues, such ads have appeared before.

This article was first published in The New Paper