Woman's parents scatter joss paper outside her boyfriend's home

The parents of a 21-year-old woman scattered paper money outside her boyfriend's home and made a scene when she refused to come home.

Police were called to the scene and after several hours of mediation, the woman, who is a polytechnic student, agreed to go home at around 8pm that day.

A distraught father

The incident took place at Block 51, Toa Payoh Lorong 6 at around 1pm on July 22.

Shin Min Daily News was contacted by Mr Yang, a 54-year-old driver, who claimed that his daughter was trapped in her boyfriend's flat and unable to leave. The boyfriend called the police when Mr Yang and his wife went to the Toa Payoh flat to pick up his daughter.

When Shin Min arrived on the scene, Mr Yang, his wife and five or six police officers were standing in the corridor outside the unit.

An emotional Mr Yang told Shin Min that the couple wanted to take their daughter home, but she refused to come out of the flat. While his daughter had been dating her boyfriend for several years, Mr Yang said he had become increasingly opposed to the man.

"My daughter's boyfriend does not have a proper job and has a serious skin disease, so we objected to their relationship. But she didn't listen, and our relationship became increasingly strained."

Mr Yang's daughter often stayed over at her boyfriend's flat, only returning home occasionally. As she had spent two days there, she promised to go home on the night of July 21, but did not do so.

When Mr Yang went to the flat in the early hours, he had a brief scuffle with the boyfriend.

Daughter refused to go home

The following afternoon, the couple went to pick up their daughter, but she again refused to go home and the police were called.

A red envelope containing joss paper had been left outside the unit, while joss paper was also scattered in the corridor. Mr Yang admitted that he had scattered the joss paper out of anger, and in a bid to force the boyfriend to the door.

Two cans of beer and an empty wine were also placed next to the red envelope, on which had been written: "I am returning the wine to you, along with two cans of beer," which seemed to imply a clean break.

After the daughter agreed to return home, the couple eventually left the scene.

I need space: Daughter

Ms Chen, the couple's daughter, told Shin Min that she went home as agreed on July 23.

She preferred to stay at her boyfriend's home as she was under too much pressure from her parents. "I understand that they care about me, but I feel depressed and need some breathing space."

While she did not want to have a falling out with her parents, Ms Chen hopes that her parents can be more understanding. As it is now the school holidays, she will try to go home and see them as much as possible.