First, local radio DJ, actor and getai veteran Marcus Chin made the news after he began dating his personal assistant, Miss Eileen Cheah, while still married to his wife, 54-year-old Murong Ying.
Now, the 57-year-old is in the news again, after his estranged wife is claiming a monthly maintenance allowance of S$5,000, which Chin has allegedly promised her earlier.
According to Shin Min Daily News, she had also asked him to give her S$1m to return to Taiwan. Through her lawyer, Mr Sng Kheng Huat, she is also asking for $20,000 to be put in a trust fund for her by Chin. Mr Sng claims this is because Madam Murong does not trust Chin after he left her for Miss Cheah, despite the ex-wife giving up her Taiwan citizenship to be with Chin in Singapore.
Their separation, in October 2008, was initiated by Chin.
When they separated, he wrote her a letter saying he would give her $5,000 a month. And he paid her that sumfor eight months.
But for several months after that, he reduced the amountto $1,000, the court heard.
In November last year, the court ordered him to give Madam Murong $3,000 a month and another $600 for the HDB loan instalment.
Madam Murong then asked for the sum to be increased to $5,000, what Chin had promised in his letter.
On Monday afternoon in the Family Court, Mr Sng cross-examined Chin in a three-hour session, reported The New Paper.
Details of Chin's 'splurges' were read out by Mr Sng, such as a party held by him and his girlfriend when their baby girl was a month old in September. The party had amounted to $48,000. He also mentioned two pieces of jewellery worth nearly $1,600 that were charged to his credit card in May.
Another item, a camera, which was bought by his 'mistress' was also brought up, bought using a supplementary credit card that he had given Miss Cheah.
Miss Cheah had also signed for a dinner worth $559 in May.
Chin disputed that he should hand over $1m to Madam Murong on the basis that she had no relatives in Singapore, and only a few friends when Mr Sng asked if it was reasonable of him to do so. He said: "She married me and got Singapore citizenship. So can we also say, because of that, she earned a million dollars already?”
He also defended himself for the expenses that Mr Sng listed.
One piece of jewellery, costing $399, was a Mother’s Day gift for Miss Cheah’s mother, he said.
The other, costing $1,200, was to “reward” Miss Cheah for carrying his firstborn. The $795 camera was bought to document Elise’s growth. This was “necessary” and not an extravagance, Chin argued.
The $559 dinner, he explained, was a treat for his 93-year-old mother, brother, sister and their families to show filial piety.
Asked about the cost of the dinner, Chin replied: “I didn’t have to come out with any money for the dinner becausemyelder sister paid for it.
“She was solely in charge of it because she wanted to make my mother happy. My sister kept all the red packets.”
Chin laughed bitterly at Mr Sng’s suggestion that he is bullying Madam Murong as she is an easy target. “That is a joke because in showbiz, everybody knows that I was famous for being scared of my wife,” he said.
Defending himself, Chin said that his job was not an 'iron rice bowl'. He claimed that he earned around $9,000 a month and that Madam Murong cannot depend on him for the rest of her life. He also said that she is capable of looking for a job, and can easily earn about $1,000 in a part-time position.
In earlier court sessions, Chin denied that Miss Cheah was a third party in his marriage.
He had said: “I didn’t want the rest of my life to be in sadness... I had lost all feelings for (my wife) in the last 10 years... Every time she was fierce towards me, my love for her (was) reduced.”
Chin had also told the court that she didn’t respect his mother. Once, his mother, then more than 80 years old, came to their matrimonial home to visit. He wasn’t home but even though Madam Murong was in the flat, she did not open the door for her, he alleged. His mother was left standing outside for more than an hour and he said he cannot forgive her for that.
