What began as a workplace romance between an aesthetic doctor and his clinic manager spiralled into a year-long campaign of threats, abuse, and harassment, ultimately ending in a terrifying public abduction.
On Tuesday (5 Aug), 40-year-old aesthetic doctor Chua Cheng Yu pleaded guilty to four criminal charges: harassment involving threats to leak intimate photos, unlawful restraint, using criminal force, and voluntarily causing hurt.
He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on 1 Oct. Three other charges will be taken into consideration.
Chua is the founder of Veritas Medical Aesthetics and remains listed on the clinic’s website as a practising doctor.
Veritas Medical Aesthetics
He and his former girlfriend, who also worked at the clinic, began a romantic relationship in 2022.
However, things quickly soured. The relationship became increasingly volatile, marked by frequent arguments and on-off periods.
In March 2023, the woman resigned from her role as their relationship continued to deteriorate.
Despite this, Chua continued turning up at her apartment without warning.
On the night of 1 April 2023, he forced his way into her home, accused her of infidelity, and began destroying property.
During the confrontation, he took her laptop and hair dryer, and shoved her against a wall.
He returned to her home multiple times that same night. During one of those encounters, another scuffle occurred, where the woman was shoved again and fell, hitting her head on the floor.
Later that evening, Chua persuaded her to hand over her house key by claiming he wanted to return her phone.
Once he got the key, he ran off with it.
On 24 May 2023, Chua gave the woman a lift home after dinner.
When they arrived, he asked to leave some of his belongings at her apartment as a sign of commitment.
When she declined, he began sending her a series of messages on Telegram and through a mobile game, threatening to leak her intimate photos.
Although the woman ignored him and clearly rejected his advances, Chua continued trying to contact her through various platforms.
On the night of 1 March 2024, Chua appeared outside the woman’s new workplace at International Plaza around 10pm and confronted her on the street.
He had been persistently calling and messaging her earlier that evening.
When she asked him to stop, Chua broke down in tears and begged her to get into his car.
Despite her repeated refusals, he became aggressive, grabbing her in a bear hug and forcibly shoving her into the vehicle before driving off.
Source: Court documents via Lianhe Zaobao
Court footage from CCTV and Chua’s in-car camera, played in court, captured the incident.
At one point, while the car was stopped at a traffic junction, the woman attempted to escape through the window, but Chua managed to pull her back in and continued driving.
Source: Court documents via Lianhe Zaobao
She then told him she needed to go home to feed her cats. Chua agreed and drove towards her condominium.
As they neared her residence, the woman seized a moment when he was distracted by her phone to climb out the car window.
She ran across the road towards her building, but Chua chased after her and tackled her to the ground.
Condo CCTV footage showed him dragging her back in the direction of the car.
However, she broke free and ran to a security guard, who shielded her from Chua. He then fled the scene.
The woman sustained abrasions and bruises from the incident.
At around 3.14am the next morning, Chua was taken into custody in the basement of a hotel in Novena.
Subsequent psychiatric evaluation diagnosed him with major depressive disorder, though the prosecution argued he remained mentally fit when he committed the offences.
The court has called for a suitability assessment for a Mandatory Treatment Order (MTO), which, if granted, could allow Chua to receive supervised psychiatric care instead of serving jail time.
The prosecution is also seeking a compensation order, with the amount to be determined based on the victim’s medical bills.
His ex-girlfriend has also submitted a separate compensation claim.
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Featured image adapted from court documents via Lianhe Zaobao.