he National University of Singapore (NUS) has released a media statement revealing that one of its PhD students has been missing and unreachable in France for the past fortnight.
Mr Cui Luchao, a PhD student from the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) programme at the university, was on a research attachment at the Institut de Chimie Moleculaire de I’Universite de Bourgogne (ICMUB) in Dijon, France, since May 4.
As part of his attachment, Mr Cui had participated in the International Symposium on Homogeneous Catalysis in Toulouse from July 9 to July 13. He was last seen by ICMUB staff at the symposium in Toulouse on July 12.
Mr Cui, who was working on his doctorate in Chemical & Pharmaceutical Engineering, was due to return to ICMUB in Dijon on July 14 to continue with his research. However, telephone calls made by ICMUB and SMA faculty to Mr Cui’s mobile phone had gone unanswered.
Mr Cui was then supposed to return to Singapore on July 29, but did not board his flight out of Paris.
According to an NUS spokesman, CCTV footage obtained by French authorities from the Toulouse hostel Mr Cui was staying in showed the PhD student making a call on his mobile phone on July 17 within hostel grounds.
The NUS spokesman said a missing persons report had been filed in both France and Singapore, and that SMA faculty and administrators are working with the ICMUB team in Dijon, the French authorities, as well as the Chinese embassies in Singapore and France to locate Mr Cui.
He added that SMA faculty and administrators remain in close contact with Mr Cui's family, and are providing them with the necessary assistance during this difficult time.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Mr Cui can reach Ms Juliana Chai at the Singapore-MIT Alliance at NUS at (65) 6516 1347 or email
[email protected].
