A 40-year-old aesthetic doctor pleaded guilty on 5 Aug to four criminal charges after a year-long harassment campaign against his former girlfriend culminated in a violent public abduction.
Chua Cheng Yu was convicted of using criminal force, causing intentional harassment, voluntarily causing hurt, and unlawful restraint.
The case will return to court on 1 Oct for sentencing. Three additional charges will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
Workplace Romance Turns Into Campaign of Harassment and Violence
Chua founded Veritas Medical Aesthetics and remains listed as a practising doctor on the clinic’s website. His former girlfriend, identified in court documents as Zhang, joined the clinic in 2021 as a manager.
The pair began a romantic relationship in 2022. Their relationship became plagued with constant quarrels and disagreements.
Zhang resigned from her position in March 2023 as their relationship continued to deteriorate.
Despite her resignation, Chua’s harassment escalated dramatically. On 1 Apr 2023 at around 8pm, he forced his way into Zhang’s apartment after she opened the door.
Chua accused Zhang of cheating on him and began throwing items around her house. During the confrontation, he pushed her, causing her head to hit a wall. He then left with her laptop and hair dryer.
He returned to her apartment around an hour later to ask her to reconsider her resignation. When she did not reply, he became angry and left again.
Chua returned once more after 10pm. They argued again, and he snatched her phone and the remote control to her condominium gate.
During another scuffle, Zhang fell backwards and hit her head on the floor after Chua pushed her. He drove off with her items.
At midnight, Chua returned to her residence and asked her to meet at the lobby so he could return her phone in exchange for her house key. He ran away after receiving the house key.
On 24 May 2023, Chua picked up Zhang after dinner to drive her home. When they arrived, he said he wanted to “secure their relationship” by keeping some of his belongings at her place. He also requested that she store some belongings at his house.
Zhang declined his requests and quickly left his car to return to her apartment.
Chua became angry and began messaging and calling her multiple times on Telegram.
When he received no response, he messaged her through a mobile game, threatening to share intimate photos of her.
Public Abduction Outside International Plaza Caught on CCTV
On 1 Mar 2024, Zhang received and ignored several calls at her new company from Chua.
At around 10pm, she left her office and stepped onto the street outside International Plaza when Chua pulled up in his car.
He got out to talk to her despite multiple rejections, then began crying and begging her to get into his car.
When she continued to reject his requests, Chua became angry and grabbed Zhang in a bear hug to carry her to his car. He managed to shove her into the vehicle and slammed the door shut before speeding off.
The entire incident was recorded on public CCTV and by Chua’s own in-car camera. The footage was played in court on 5 Aug.
The video showed Zhang attempting to escape from his car by crawling out of a window when he stopped at a traffic junction. Chua pulled her back in before speeding off again.
Zhang told him she needed to feed her cats at home, and he agreed to drive to her apartment.
When they were close to her residence, Zhang jumped out of a car window when Chua was distracted by her phone. She ran across the road to her condominium.
CCTV footage from the condo showed Chua sprinting after her and tackling her to the ground. He dragged her across the road back towards his car.
After struggling, Zhang broke free from Chua’s grip and ran to a condominium security guard, who shielded her from him. Chua quickly returned to his car and drove off with her belongings still inside.
Zhang suffered multiple abrasions and bruises on her body from the abduction.
Chua was found and arrested at the basement of a hotel in Novena at 3:14am on 2 Mar 2024.
Court documents show Chua was later diagnosed with major depressive disorder. However, the prosecution stated he was of sound mind when he carried out the abduction.
A report on suitability for a mandatory treatment order has been called for Chua. This means he will undergo treatment for his mental conditions instead of jail time if found suitable.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Benjamin Low said the prosecution would seek a compensation order. The amount will be derived from medical bills the victim incurred from the incident.
Zhang has also submitted her own compensation claim.
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