The moral compass of the elites

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Doctor hounded ex-girlfriend, threatened to share her intimate photos, abducted her off street​

Chua Cheng Yu's in-car camera footage showed how he shoved his former girlfriend into his car and slammed the door shut.

Summary

• Chua Cheng Yu pleaded guilty to harassing and abducting his ex-girlfriend after their relationship deteriorated in March 2023.
• Chua's actions included forcing his way into her apartment, damaging belongings, multiple scuffles with physical harm, and stealing personal items over several incidents.
• On March 1, 2024, Chua abducted her in public, leading to her escape attempts and injuries. He faces sentencing on Oct 1, with potential for compensation and mental health treatment.

AI generated

Aug 05, 2025

SINGAPORE – An aesthetic doctor hounded his former girlfriend incessantly as their relationship broke down over a period of around one year.

His actions culminated in an attack in which he violently forced her into his car in a public area and restrained her against her will.

On Aug 5, Chua Cheng Yu, 40, was convicted after he pleaded guilty to four charges – the use of criminal force; causing intentional harassment, alarm and distress; voluntarily causing hurt; and unlawful restraint.

He will return to court on Oct 1 to be sentenced.

Chua had met his former girlfriend when he worked at Veritas Medical Aesthetics, a clinic he founded. He is still listed as a doctor on its website.

In 2022, she and Chua entered into a romantic relationship, which was plagued with constant quarrels and disagreements, according to court documents.

By March 2023, their relationship had soured.

On April 1 that year, at around 8pm, he went to her apartment, forced his way inside when she opened the door, and began to throw items around her house.

Chua believed that she was cheating on him, and decided to take her laptop and hair dryer in the midst of the argument.


During the scuffle, he pushed her, causing her head to hit a wall. He then left the apartment with the items.

Around an hour later, he returned to her apartment, but became angry when she did not reply to his questions.

He then left again before returning once more after 10pm. They started arguing again, and Chua snatched her phone and a remote control to the gate of her condominium.

During another scuffle, she fell backwards and hit her head on the floor after Chua pushed her. He then drove off with her items in his car.

Chua returned to her residence at midnight and asked her to meet at the lobby of the condominium so he could return her phone, in exchange for her house key. He ran away after receiving the house key.

On May 24, 2023, Chua picked her up after a dinner to take her home. When they arrived at her place, he said he wanted to “secure their relationship” by keeping some of his belongings at her place. He also requested that she store some of her belongings at his house.

She turned down his requests and quickly left his car to go back to her apartment.

Angered, Chua began to message and call her multiple times on Telegram. When he did not get a response, he messaged her through a mobile game, threatening to share intimate photos of her.

On March 1, 2024, she received and ignored several calls from Chua while she was at work.

At around 10pm, she left the office and had just stepped out onto the street outside International Plaza when Chua pulled up in his car.

Chua messaged and called the victim multiple times on Telegram. When he did not get a response, he messaged her through a mobile game, threatening to share intimate photos of her.

PHOTOS: COURT DOCUMENTS

He got out of his car to talk to her despite multiple rejections, before crying and begging for her to get into his car.

When she continued to reject his entreaties, Chua became angry and grabbed her in a bear hug to carry her to his car.

He managed to shove her into the car and slammed the door shut before speeding off.

The entire altercation, recorded on public closed camera television (CCTV) and by his own in-car camera, was played in court on Aug 5.

Footage showed she made an attempt to escape from his car by crawling out of a window when he stopped at a traffic junction, but Chua managed to pull her back in before speeding off again.

She then told him that she needed to feed her cats at home, and he agreed to drive to her apartment.

When they were close to her apartment, she managed to jump out of a car window when he was preoccupied with her phone, and ran across the road to her condo.

CCTV footage from the condo showed Chua sprinting after her and tackling her to the ground, before dragging her across the road back towards his car.

After struggling, she got free of Chua’s grip and ran to a condo security guard, who shielded her from Chua. Chua then quickly returned to his car and drove off with her belongings still in it.

Chua’s in-car camera footage showed how the victim tried to escape through the car window at a traffic junction before he pulled her back.

PHOTO: COURT DOCUMENTS

She suffered multiple abrasions and bruises on her body as a result of the abduction.

Chua was found and arrested at the basement of a hotel in Novena at 3.14am on March 2, 2024.

Court documents show Chua was later diagnosed with major depressive disorder, but the prosecution said he was of sound mind when the abduction was carried out.

A report on suitability for a mandatory treatment order has been called for Chua, which means he will undergo treatment for his mental conditions in lieu of jail time if he is found suitable.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Benjamin Low said the prosecution would be seeking a compensation order, with the quantum to be derived from medical bills that the victim incurred due to the incident.

The victim has also submitted her own compensation claim.

 

[True Believer]

The 65% must understand that S'poreans cannot change a greedy govt, so voters must change the ruling party.

 

[True Believer]

The 65% must realise that S'pore won't collapse if the Opposition forms the govt

 

[dr.wailing]

Is it any wonder why S'pore is consistently ranked 3rd or 4th in the world crony capitalism index?

Voters of Sinkie's general elections don't care about global rankings of this or that.

 

[True Believer]

Voters of Sinkie's general elections don't care about global rankings of this or that.

The PAP realises this and have successfully melted the hearts of many needy voters through those CDC vouchers which taxpayers have funded.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Ong Ye Kung rebuts complaints about treatment of stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre​

Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre opened in December 2022 after a three-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

Summary

• Bukit Canberra hawkers aren't charged for storing supplies in baskets or penalised for not providing free meals, according to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
• Food critic K.F. Seetoh claimed hawkers paid $70 each month to use the baskets and had to provide 60 free meals at their own expense.
• Mr Seetoh thanked the minister and suggested that they meet so that he could get “the full picture”.

AI generated

Aug 11, 2025

SINGAPORE – Stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre are not charged for storing supplies in baskets or penalised for not providing free meals, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

Mr Ong, who oversees the ward where the food centre is located, was responding in an Aug 11 Facebook post to concerns raised by veteran food critic K.F. Seetoh about the treatment of hawkers there.

In a Facebook post on Aug 4, Mr Seetoh had claimed that the food centre’s hawkers were forced to pay $70 each month to use blue supply baskets at the back of each stall.

The founder of local food guide Makansutra, in another post on Aug 8, said the stallholders were contractually obliged to offer 60 free meals at their own expense.

“What a ridiculous smash and grab management policy,” he said in the post, which included a screenshot of what appears to be a contract with the hawker centre’s management.

Mr Seetoh also claimed that hawkers were forced to offer budget meals of up to $3.50 for everyone, not just “the poor”.

In March 2023, the budget meal initiative was launched by the Ministry of National Development and the Housing Board to provide Singaporeans with meals typically priced $3.50 and below at coffee shops.

Mr Ong, who also leads the Sembawang GRC MPs, said he had investigated the matters raised after finding out about the food critic’s online posts.

He said the claim that hawkers must provide 60 free meals “does not present the full picture”.

Mr Ong said stallholders had initially agreed to provide 30 meals each month for low-income residents when the hawker centre first opened, before the figure was adjusted to 100 meals over the three-year duration of their lease.

Mr Ong, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, added: “There are no penalties if they do not or are unable to provide the meals.

“This simple, well-intentioned initiative was meant to encourage our hawkers to ‘pay it forward’.”

Mr Ong, who said he visits the hawker centre frequently, noted that the initiative has yet to commence.

He added: “I appreciate K.F. Seetoh’s concern for our hawkers and share his passion for keeping our hawker culture alive and thriving.

“However, let’s do so without putting down anyone, whether they are patrons, hawkers, the hawker centre operator, or government agencies.”

On Aug 11, Mr Seetoh thanked the minister and suggested that they meet so that he could get “the full picture”.

The 44-stall Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre opened in December 2022 after a three-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time of its launch, about 10 per cent of the stalls were run by Sembawang residents.

It was the first such facility to open in the constituency after about three decades.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Hawkers at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre will not need to provide free meals under new contracts​

Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre's management said the free meal initiative has not officially started.

Aug 15, 2025

SINGAPORE – The management of Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre will scrap clauses requiring hawkers to provide free meals when their contracts are renewed in September.

Following days of public outcry, the management said in a Facebook post on Aug 15 night that it may not proceed with its Pay-It-Forward initiative in its current form, which contractually required stallholders to provide free meals for the needy each month at their own expense, or risk being penalised.

It added that it was making a public commitment that it does not intend to enforce the obligation in the future.

The hawker centre is run by Canopy Hawkers Group, a subsidiary of Food Canopy.

Debate surrounding the Pay-it-Forward initiative first gained traction on Aug 8 when veteran food critic K.F. Seetoh criticised the management’s attempt at “forced charity” in a Facebook post, which included a screenshot of the contract.

On Aug 11, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, who oversees the ward where the hawker centre is located, said on Facebook that hawkers did not face penalties if they did not provide the meals.

However, a 2022 contract shown to the media, including The Straits Times, indicated that hawkers could chalk up demerit points if they did not provide the meals.

ST had earlier reported in June 2024 that tenants at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre have to participate in a “Belanja A Meal” programme, which required them to set aside 100 meals for the needy at their own cost.

In that report, 25 hawkers from socially conscious enterprise hawker centres (SEHCs), including Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre, told ST that their livelihood is becoming less sustainable, with a host of responsibilities that include the need to shield lower-income families from rising costs.

Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre on Aug 15 said that it acknowledged that participation in charitable causes should be voluntary.

It reiterated its position stated in its Aug 12 post, that when stall applications opened three years ago, the initiative had been incorporated into tenancy agreements to differentiate applications and “select the hawkers who shared our vision to contribute back to the community”.

Before the hawker centre opened in 2022, the management had attracted “overwhelming” interest, with nine applicants for each available stall.

The management’s Aug 12 post said it “significantly reduced” the number of meals under the Pay-It-Forward programme from 30 meals a month to 100 meals over the three-year tenancy period, following discussions with the stallholders after the hawker centre opened.

Even so, the programme has not officially started, as the management has not done the preparatory work to identify low-income residents and track their eligibility.

“While hawkers have voluntarily agreed to participate at the point of selection, we also acknowledged the view that charity should not be contractual, and this is something to be reviewed again when the Pay-It-Forward programme is ready,” it added.


On Aug 15, the management further shared that it held back from implementing the initiative as some hawkers had said they may not be able to fulfil their commitments, even though they would have liked to “if their circumstances had been better”.

It added: “We also learnt that in the constituency we are in, the concept of the meal assistance programme is called ‘Belanja A Meal’, (and it) relies on voluntary contributions from patrons, instead of hawkers.”

The management noted that no hawkers have been penalised for not providing free meals under the tenancy agreements, and said it did not intend to enforce the obligation in the future. “This is a commitment we are making publicly.”

The management said that it will work with hawkers to offer “affordable value meals”, and that its hawkers “are not expected to make a loss selling value meals”.

It said: “We remain committed to fostering a caring community while ensuring fairness for our hawkers, and will continue to engage openly with tenants and the public as we refine the programme”.


The SEHC model was started in 2011 when the Government resumed building hawker centres. The scheme had the aim of helping a new breed of hawker centres succeed, by ensuring good visitorship, a diverse food mix that responds to evolving needs, and long-term viability.

Discussion about whether the model was the right way forward sparked debate in Parliament in November 2018.

Following that, the National Environment Agency introduced a series of changes aimed at easing the constraints on hawkers.