After their relationship broke down, Singaporean aesthetic doctor Dr Chua Cheng Yu was found guilty of the harassment and abduction of his former girlfriend.
On 5 August, Chua, 40, was convicted and charged with the use of criminal force; causing intentional harassment, alarm and distress; voluntarily causing hurt; and unlawful restraint. This follows Chua violently forcing his ex-girlfriend into his car against her will after numerous failed attempts to talk to her.
Alongside harrowing closed camera television (CCTV) footage, initial attempts to link this to Chua’s diagnosis of depression were refuted. The prosecution stated that Chua was of sound mind when the abduction was carried out.
A Timeline of Events
Chua had met his former girlfriend, identified in court documents as Zhang, while they were both working at the same clinic. At the time of writing, he is still listed as the founder and a practicing doctor on the clinic’s website.
Zhang had previously been employed as a clinic manager in 2021, and began a romantic relationship with Chua the following year. The relationship was turbulent and plagued with frequent quarrels and arguments. Subsequently, she resigned from her position in 2023 as her relationship with Chua deteriorated.
Thus sparked a year-long period of continued harassment, spanning April 2023 to March 2024.
Chua’s actions ranged from forcibly taking Zhang’s possessions in the middle of an argument, to spamming her with messages begging to speak to her. Physical conversations to discuss their relationship led to scuffles, with his ex-girlfriend left injured. This escalated to threats to share intimate photos of Zhang.
Eventually, this culminated in Chua’s final attempt to revive their relationship in March 2024.
How a Doctor’s Harassment Escalated Into Abduction
On 1 March 2024, Zhang had left her office late at night when Chua arrived in his car. Intending to talk to her, Chua became angered by her rejections. He grabbed her in order to carry her to his car. After shoving her inside, he sped off.
Public CCTV footage later showed Zhang’s attempt to escape by crawling out of the car window while stopped at a traffic junction. Chua was able to pull her back in before speeding off again.
When they were closer to her apartment, Zhang managed to jump out of the car window and run towards her condominium. In CCTV footage, Chua is seen chasing after her and tackling her to the ground in a bid to drag her back to his car.
Fortunately, Zhang was able to break free. With the help of a security guard, she was able to fend him off. Chua promptly drove off with her possessions still in his car.
Chua was later found and arrested at 3.24am on March 2, 2024.
Was Depression a Factor?
Court documents stated that Chua had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder. However, psychiatrists confirmed he was of sound mind at the time of the incident.
This raises the question: can depression lead someone to commit such acts?
When most people think of depression, they picture sadness, hopelessness, or withdrawal. To most people, this does not align with the mentality needed to carry out the harassment and abduction of an innocent party.
Understanding How Depression Can Manifest
Major depressive disorder can cause consistent feelings of sadness and apathy. This can affect how you feel, think, and behave, and lead to a host of emotional and physical problems. Common symptoms include feelings of worthlessness or guilt, sleep disturbances, and frequent or recurrent thoughts of death and suicide.
However, depression can also manifest itself in more violent ways. Angry outbursts, irritability, or frustration over small matters are an infrequently observed symptoms of depression. This, coupled with anxiety, agitation, or restlessness, can be potential triggers for major outbursts.
Depression can also manifest differently in men and women. This could be linked to differences in brain chemistry, hormones, or life experiences.
In men, some symptoms may include controlling, violent, or abusive behaviour, as well as irritability or anger that can erupt without warning. This can also include risky behaviour and acts. In such instances, getting professional help may be required.
This may explain – but not excuse – why some individuals with untreated depression may behave violently or recklessly.
Do Mental Illnesses Increase Risk of Violence?
Many studies have found that there is an existing link between mental health and violence. People with serious mental illnesses like major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder, are suggested to be somewhat more likely to commit acts of violence.
But upon closer examination, this situation is often more complex than it seems. Later studies seem to suggest that most people with severe mental illness are not violent. Rather, people with severe mental illness who go on to commit violent acts are usually also influenced by external factors. This can include a history of prior violence, childhood physical abuse, or inherent antisocial behaviours.
Only by understanding this paradox will we be able to begin to fathom how a doctor could go to the lengths of harassing and abducting his ex-girlfriend.
While it is true that Chua suffers from depression, it does not excuse him from what he has done.
Mental illness does not automatically make someone violent, and not all violent people are mentally ill. To paint depression with a broad brush risks further stigmatising those who live with it daily. What this case shows is the importance of recognising early warning signs: obsessive behaviour, repeated boundary violations, and controlling tendencies.
Seeking professional help early, whether for mental health struggles or relationship issues, can change outcomes.
