Local singer-songwriter Elson Soh blog about his experience at a pest-infested flat in Eunos Crescent

Local singer-songwriter Elson Soh blog about his experience at a pest-infested flat in Eunos Crescent when he visited this family with his Project Coordinator Jacky Goh last night.

His blog post went viral and attracted more than 100 Singaporeans contacting him and Jacky Goh via whatsapp since this morning, stating that they are willing to step forward to assist in the house cleaning.

Senior Lawyer Tan Lam Siong, also volunteered at Project Awareness, expressing his interest in giving a counseling session for Mr Lim and Mdm Soh, the owners of the flat.

Elson Soh replied to the online media that he will have a discussion with his team and will update everybody through Project Awareness Facebook page by this weekend on how they could assist this family.

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Pest-infested flat in Eunos Crescent plagues neighbours

Went to visit this unit which was published in The Straits Times and Shin Ming Daily News. My team and myself got a shock when the owner Mr Lim (74 years old) opened his door as the smell was indeed unbearable.

We can see dozens of cockroaches crawling around, while dead ones lay motionless on the sticky floor and some even on the walls.

There are stacks of newspapers, clothes, boxes, empty bottles and cans lined the walls. The items filled the two rooms and kitchen to a chest-high level, and there was only a narrow passage left for walking. Mr Lim sleeps on the sofa at the living room, while Mdm Soh (66 years old) sleeps at the utility room next to the toilet. The condition in the kitchen is even worst, as we can see flying cockroaches accompanied by the smell of rotten foods filled the place, and dying insects can be seen everywhere.

I spoke to Mr Lim and asked why he had refused to throw away those dirty items and he replied to me saying all these items belongs to his wife Mdm Soh. When we ask him where is Mdm Soh, he say they are not on talking term since 20 years ago, even since she suffered from post-natal depression. When asked of the pest infestation, Mr Lim says that all the cockroaches are his "friends" now.

When we left the house, we spoke to two neighbours and they are very concerned about this family, not because of their dirty environment but both the elderly health condition. I can tell that their neighbours actually do care for them, just that their helping hands had been rejected.

While we were walking back to our car, we saw a women hiding behind the letter box peeping at us. When I ask her whether she is Mrs Lim, she scream at us, saying that why we write all the untruth stuffs about her house in the newspaper. After we tell her we are volunteers from Project Awareness, she quieten down and invited us to sit down to chat. We bought her an ice cream and after taking a few mouthfuls, she kept the remainder inside a maggot filled plastic bags. Ants can also be seen crawling in and out of her shirt but it doesnt seem to bother her too.

During the chatting session, me and my Project Coordinator Jacky Goh, can tell that she is suffering from some kind of mental disorder, as she keep telling us that she attempted suicide a couple of times. We did try our best to encourage her to sell away all her items inside the house to exchange for cash, but she insisted on keeping all the items.

Mdm Soh share with us that many government agencies approach her recently, and she is very willing to let the Town Council and HDB do the house cleaning for her. But after awhile, she changed her mind suddenly and accused us of trying to trick her to throw away her stuffs at her home.

I'm wondering how Project Awareness can help Mr Lim and Mdm Soh, especially when both of them are living in such a terrible condition environment. My heart sank when I was sitting close to Mdm Soh. Jacky, on the other hand, accompanied Mr Lim inside their house. I feel that the both of them have a serious communication problem, and I really hope we can have a solution for them.

Source: http://elsonsoh.blogspot.sg/2015/04/pest-infested-flat-in-eunos-crescent.html

Kate Pang suffers miscarriage

MediaCorp artiste Kate Pang and her husband Andie Chen recently grieved over the loss of their second child, less than a month into Kate’s pregnancy.

Toggle had learnt of her pregnancy two weeks ago, but she had declined an interview as she was in the early and unstable stages of pregnancy. However, on the night of the second show of Star Awards 2015 last Sunday, the 32-year-old revealed that she had ‘lost the child’.

In an interview with Toggle over the phone yesterday, Kate explained that the couple had intended to inform everybody of their new family member, but did not expect it to “become a sad story”.

The 32-year-old also shared that her pregnancy was unexpected, as the couple had not planned for a second child.

“I was still breastfeeding and my period had stopped for a long time. However, I suddenly experienced bleeding, the same situation I had during my first pregnancy. At that moment, my sixth sense kicked in and I wondered if I was pregnant.”

In her phone call, Kate channeled her usual lively and jovial attitude, seemingly having overcome her loss.

“Nobody wished for (the miscarriage) to happen but we are not shameful that it did. Many mothers-to-be also face this issue, so I would go through this process of recovery with them,” she said.

Undergoing a medical procedure in the midst of Star Awards

Seeking medical advice about her sudden bleeding after the first show of Star Awards (two weekends ago), Kate’s doctor discovered that her foetus was not developing and the umbilical cord had already shriveled. It is suspected that it was due to a problem with the foetus’ chromosomes.

As the 32-year-old was a host for the second show of Star Awards, she had originally planned to undergo the procedure to remove the baby after the show, but was advised to do so quickly to prevent the awkward situation of bleeding while hosting.

“When I learnt that I needed the surgery, I immediately phoned Andie. Soon after, his manager called and asked if I needed any help. She told me that Andie burst into tears at the film set (after the call).”

Kate added, “I didn’t expect it to be such a big blow to him. I am someone who is better at concealing my emotions and tears from others, so I was shocked that he cried.”

Leaving it to fate for their next child

Comforting herself of the loss, she said, “My doctor told me that it is very common amongst mothers-to-be, as one in every six pregnant women may face this issue.”

She even said jokingly, “My mother-in-law was worried about my feelings, but I think I remained quite positive. I cherished this child as it is a gift, but I guess God is telling me that I cannot skive off as I have just returned to work.”

Now that the couple have moved on, Andie, who used to be against the idea of having a second child, is constantly encouraging Kate to “work hard together” to conceive another child.

Still, Kate wishes to leave it to fate, as she needs to regain her health first and focus on her career.

Cherishing Aden more than before

After their loss, the couple also began to shower more love towards their first son Aden. “He must find it weird that everyone is suddenly treating him so well. I really cherish this child and I cannot stop looking at every little thing he does.”

“It is not easy for a life to be formed and we didn’t enjoy this miracle very well in the past. Now, we know that it is not an easy journey,” she said.

With Kate being back in the game after renewing her contract with MediaCorp in February and Andie busy with his theatrical debut in local musical Decemeber Rains, the couple have engaged a helper to watch over their little one.

Like most working mums, Kate feels the pressure of being “replaced by the helper” in Aden’s heart.

She jested, “I think he has fallen in love with the helper. Whenever I feed him, he would keep looking at her and it breaks my heart (laughs). But it is a good that they like each other, as Aden wouldn’t be bullied. Just as long as he loves mummy the most, everything is fine.”

Speaking on Joanne Peh’s pregnancy, Kate quipped, “I hope she enjoys this blissful moment as once she has given birth, there would be many restless nights! As it would be a tough recovery process after childbirth, I hope she recuperates well.”

Timmy Hung welcomes the birth of his second son

Hong Kong TVB actor Timmy Hung’s wife Janet Chow had given birth to their second son nicknamed ‘Little JT’ on Tuesday (Apr 28).

The couple tied the knot in 2012 and in less than a year, they ushered the arrival of their first son. Yesterday, Janet had undergone a caesarean section to deliver Little JT, who weighs approximately 3.45 kilograms at birth.

While Janet recuperated from her surgery, Timmy excited broke the news on his Weibo by sharing a photo of his newborn son, in which his mouth was widely opened while he slept soundly.

Timmy wrote in his post, “Both mummy and BB (Little JT) are healthy, but mummy is a little tired so she needs some rest. I would be at an event on the 30th, so I would talk more about it then!”

Timmy’s father and renowned Hong Kong martial artist Sammo Hung was also happy to learn of the birth of his grandson. He commented jokingly that TJ bore a resemblance to him for being a big-sized baby.

Sammo also suggested the Chinese name ‘Da Ye’ (loosely translated as old man) for him, but Timmy swiftly rejected it as he wanted to name TJ himself. 

Ryan Phillippe is 'not opposed' to marriage

Ryan Phillippe is "not opposed" to getting married again.

The 'Secrets and Lies' star, who divorced Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon in 2008 after nine years of marriage, says he would consider tying the knot with his girlfriend of four years, Paulina Slagter, in the future.

Asked about their relationship, the 40-year-old star, who has daughter Ava, 15, and son Deacon, 11, with Reese, said: "It's [serious]. I'm not opposed to [getting married again]."

Ryan insists he and Paulina, 24, have a lot in common and is very proud she is about to graduate from university.

He told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show: "She's awesome. When people see her they have these judgments because she could be a model but she's about to graduate Stanford Law. Also what's great about it -- as you get older certain issues become more important to you. I'm very involved in civil rights issues, and so to be with a woman who could actually make an impact in the legal realm -- that's a beautiful thing."

The heartthrob, who also has daughter Kailani, three, with ex-girlfriend Alexis Knapp, claims his own career is no longer as important to him.

He said: "Since I became a dad, I love the business [but] it's not everything to me. I think that's held me back in some regards."

BoA & Girls’ Generation to hold comebacks in May

May is set to be a month packed with S.M. Entertainment’s girl power with two of their artistes, BoA and Girls’ Generation, confirming their respective comebacks.

BoA was previously confirmed to release a 15th anniversary album after she uploaded a photo of her in the recording studio but only confirmed today (Apr 30) that her comeback date is set for May 12. Her eighth full length album comes almost three years after Only One, and is said to include tracks that were purely penned by the artiste herself.

While the album title has yet to be revealed, an S.M. rep shared that a variety of genres, including indie pop, R&B and funk will be explored in her latest work.

Meanwhile, label mates Girls’ Generation have also confirmed their comeback in May, with this being the first Korean release since Jessica departed from the group last September. The octet released their Japanese single, Catch Me If You Can, earlier this month.

Their last studio album, I Got a Boy, was released in January 2013 and with the upcoming release slated to be a studio album, fans are expecting a full cycle of promotions for the group.

Girls’ Generation’s last physical Korean release was their mini album Mr.Mr. in February 2014.

Joanne Peh’s pregnancy bans: raising hands, washing dishes, sashimi

Upcoming Channel 8 drama Mind Game may be a dark, gruesome production (heads up: the pilot contains decapitated corpses), but the atmosphere at yesterday’s media conference with stars Joanne Peh, Tay Ping Hui, Paige Chua, Zhang Yao Dong, Terence Cao and Akit Tay was a cheerful one, filled with good-natured quips and fond anecdotes.

Most of the cast members even showed up in an array of delightfully punchy colours, although no one emanated a radiance like expectant Joanne, who claimed that her fuchsia dress was not an indication of her little one’s gender (a secret she and hubby Qi Yuwu wish to keep exclusive to close friends and family members for as long as they can).

“It’s all from my baby,” she gushed during a group interview, when asked if she’s been sticking to a particular complexion-boosting regimen. “They say a mother emits the hormones of her unborn child, so I have mine to thank for my glow.”

Besides that, she has also been keeping in shape by keeping up with her pre-pregnancy active lifestyle, albeit with safer activities such as pre-natal yoga and Pilates, brisk-walking and using the step machine. “I’ll be in a bad mood if I don’t exercise!” she admitted with a chuckle.

Speaking of keeping in shape, does Joanne, who has always been slim, worry about the bump “wrecking” her figure? “I was at first, but (I realised) I should be thankful for the opportunity to experience this,” she shared.

In addition to the physical changes, the usually cool and collected Joanne has some emotional fluctuations to contend with. “I don’t lose my temper, but I do get emo – yesterday I cried buckets because (my husband went back to China) and I miss him!” she bewailed. “It has never been this bad.”

At least she has something sweet to remember him by until his return for the filming of The Dream Makers sequel and of course, the birth of their baby: before he left, Yuwu romantically left a pink rose on their kitchen counter, which Joanne happily shared about on her Instagram page.

When the husband is around, however, you can bet that he’s a super protective father-to-be. “He doesn’t let me carry heavy things, climb up to high places, or even wash the dishes!”

And even when he’s away, Joanne has friends and relatives who are just as anxiously dictating what she should or should not be doing. “I’m told that I cannot raise my arms because the umbilical cord could get tangled, or that I cannot hit my shoulders too hard because of some nerve connection,” she said. “I don’t know if those are all old wives’ tales, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.”

Other things she is currently avoiding: pineapple, mangoes, alcohol, too much coffee, and – most unfortunate of all – sashimi. “So painful! I would like to have a plate of it sometime,” lamented Joanne.

Baby QiPeh was upset at daddy’s Best Actor loss?

While Joanne managed to snag Best Supporting Actress at last Sunday’s Star Awards, Yuwu lost Best Actor to Shaun Chen, and the bun in the oven seems to have been aware of the defeat. “There was some movement when he didn’t win, but maybe it was a coincidence,” she told us.

Another time the mama-to-be felt her kid acting up was when watching the trailer for Mind Game, which was full of loud noises and unsettling action, during the media session. “I was like, ‘Baby, you don’t like it, huh?’ I don’t know how I’m going to watch this drama!”

Paige Chua will reject her long-time boyfriend’s marriage proposal

While Joanne blissfully anticipates the arrival of her mini-me in August, her first-time co-star Paige has no plans to tie the knot and have babies yet, despite being in a stable relationship with a non-celebrity for the past 12 years.

“I’m happy with my current status and enjoying life right now,” she revealed in a separate interview with Toggle. “I used to have a marriage goal when I was 18, but I gave up when I realised there are many other things I want to do besides settling down.”

What sort of things? “I want to travel more and I want to make a few drama serials that I can be really proud of, and I don’t think I’m there yet,” she admitted. “I love children, but right now I’m not ready to commit 24/7 of my time to a child. I don’t want to get married and have kids just because I’m pressured to.”

With this declaration came a candid confession: if her boyfriend popped the question to her, she would turn him down. “I would say, ‘Thanks but no, not yet’. (laughs)”

Jay Chou avoids talking about his baby

All eyes have been on Taiwanese star couple Jay Chou and Hannah Quinlivan since they announced they are expecting their first child earlier this month. Though the 21-year-old is believed to be almost five months pregnant, the parents-to-be have never confirmed this and also declined to reveal the gender of the baby to public “in order to surprise everyone”.

On Monday, Jay, 36, attended the press conference for the Original Music Competition and mentioned nothing about family matters. He only took the stage for 12 minutes to encourage youths to unleash their creativity and share his experiences. After his talk on stage, he left the venue immediately to avoid the media.

Hannah’s good friend Kuo Yuan Yuan said, “Hannah recently began vomiting a lot and her appetite has not been good. Now she’s gotten better, as she’s put on a few kilograms and likes to drink her favourite pumpkin soup.”

As she did not want to reveal the baby’s gender by choosing general red or blue colours for the baby gifts, Hannah chose yellow instead. Judging by the chosen colour, it is speculated that she could be having a male baby.

In other related news, Hannah’s father and stepmother who once filed for divorce because they did not see eye to eye about their children’s education and other relationship issues have now clarified that they have reconciled. The two are now living with each other and plan to raise their children togeth

Eunjung tears up when clarifying T-ARA’s bullying controversy

T-ARA’s Eunjung guested on Mnet’s 4show and opened up about T-ARA’s bullying controversy in 2012, which involved former member Hwayoung.

The controversy hogged headlines for weeks, with new reports and allegations surfacing on an almost-daily basis. In a nutshell, Hwayoung, who joined the group around a year after their debut, had her contract terminated by their label, Core Contents Media, now known as MBK Entertainment.

This came amidst allegations that the group was bullying Hwayoung, with many instances including tweets from the members’ personal accounts and visuals of the girls excluding Hwayoung from their activities raised as evidence against the group.

Hwayoung later uploaded an apology letter, which some speculated included a secret message, “Only (the) fans know”, within it. T-ARA’s image within Korea took a massive hit and they have been actively promoting overseas since.

On 4show, Eunjung, who was one of the members who received the most backlash for a video in which she stuffed rice cakes into Hwayoung’s mouth against her will, teared up when she mentioned the scandal and shared, “I always worry about what people will think of me every time I make an appearance on a show but I decided against it this time (…) there are many things that aren’t the truth that the public believes to be true.”

The full episode which includes Eunjung’s teary confession will air on the 4show tonight (Apr 28).

Vanessa Lachey is still evolving

Vanessa Lachey is "still evolving as a woman and a mother."

The 34-year-old star, who has two-year-old son Camden and three-month-old daughter Brooklyn with husband Nick Lachey, admits she can't believe she has two children.

The brunette beauty said: "It's still very surreal to me that I'm a mother of two. I am loving every day of it. It's not really hit me yet. I'm still evolving as a woman and a mother, and so what I'm learning from her, and my son, and my husband is an every day journey."

Asked how they came up with their daughter's name, Vanessa said: "Well we love New York. We were actually here in New York and we thought Brooklyn Lachey sounds a little better than SoHo Lachey or East River Lachey or The Bronx Lachey."

The former Miss Teen USA winner was tempted to "go back and hug" a stranger's crying baby on her flight after flying to New York City without her children this week.

She told the 'TODAY' show: "It was the first time travelling with neither of my children. You just have this empathy. You just miss them."

Vanessa is currently working with the organisation March of Dimes, which works to end premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality, and was inspired to get involved because she was terrified of giving birth prematurely.

She said: "When you're pregnant, the one fear you have is any day now, any day now. It's just a terrifying thing."

Dee Hsu involved in a road accident

Amidst rumours of being domestically abused by her husband, Taiwanese television host Dee Hsu made the headlines again after she had accidentally injured herself by falling off a bicycle on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the 36-year-old personally recounted the entire process of her mishap on her Facebook account and apologised to her fans that she needed to take time off her talk show to recuperate.

She explained, “I happily rode on the bicycle with my husband and our friends yesterday. However, I misgauged the speed while we rode downhill, flew off my seat and landed on the ground face flat. We immediately called for an ambulance but I was petrified and in immense pain then.”

Dee also went on to thank her friends and family for their concern, expressing her gratitude towards her older sister Barbie Hsu for replacing her on her talk show and her husband Mike Hsu for his care.

However, this incident had once again reminded netizens of Mike’s alleged abuse towards Dee. Barbie, who stepped out to deny the rumours on behalf of her sister last week, also published an article yesterday to clarify the new issue.

“I will be replacing Dee on Here Comes Kangxi tomorrow and I am really nervous. You (Dee) really love to fall down! But as long as you are fine, I will always be your support!”

“My brother-in-law (Mike) is really unfortunate. There isn’t domestic violence but there are only family hugs (which sounds similar to domestic violence in Mandarin). You should go pray to the Gods,” she jested.

Netizens also praised the close relationship between the sisters, with some commenting, “It’s so good to have an older sister” and “Barbie and Dee are very close sisters, I can’t wait to see Barbie on the show”.

Tao keeps fans in suspense on his status in EXO

EXO-L have been through an emotional time as one of the two remaining Chinese members, Tao, was claimed to be leaving EXO. His father’s emotional open letter had many preparing for the worst, but it has yet to be seen if label S.M. Entertainment’s pledge to try to keep him in the group will pull through.

In his first social media update since the letter was revealed, Tao updated his personal Weibo with a short and ambiguous message. His update, posted last night (Apr 26) read, “I’m sorry. Thank you.”

Previously, his close friend and fellow entertainer Huang Xiaoming reportedly mentioned that Tao would make an official statement last week on his status in the group – a deadline fans nervously waited for but no updates have been released from either Tao or S.M. since then.

Last week, an SM C&C producer who is said to manage the label’s activities in China deleted his personal Twitter account after posting that Lay would likely leave EXO after Tao. While it was made on a personal level, EXO-L quickly caught wind of his post, causing much distress within the fandom.

Last year, EXO was plagued with two departures, which started off with Kris and was soon followed by Luhan. The two are currently involved in acting projects in China despite S.M.’s lawsuits against the two of them, calling for all their commercial activities to be halted.

iKON to debut after BIGBANG’s comeback

YG Entertainment’s CEO Yang Hyun Suk has revealed that iKON will debut after BIGBANG’s comeback. This is contrary to what was initially revealed – which was that WINNER would release their album before iKON would do so.

CEO Yang shared that he has been meeting with iKON once every three days and that WINNER’s album will likely follow closely in the footsteps of iKON’s. He added that given that WINNER has already picked up a rookie award and built up a strong fandom after their debut last year, the CEO reasoned that iKON should be given the chance to shine as well.

WINNER, who was then known as Team A, had a chance to debut after coming out tops in YG’s reality survival programme, Who is Next: Win in 2013. The remaining six members of Team B, however, had to go through another gruelling reality survival show, Mix & Match, before they were given a chance to debut.

After going through both shows, the eventual iKON members were confirmed to be B.I, Bobby, Jinhwan, Yunhyeong, Dongjyuk, Junhoe and Chanwoo.

Mix & Match aired in June 2014, which translates to iKON having waited almost a year for their debut. They were initially slated for a January debut, which was then pushed back without a new confirmed debut date.

Tyga thinks ex is 'jealous' of Kylie?

Tyga thinks Blac Chyna is "jealous" of his relationship with Kylie Jenner.

The 'Ayo' hitmaker - who is currently romancing the 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' star - has had his relationship rocked by allegations made by his former fiancée that he wants to get back with her.

A source said: "Tyga feels Blac Chyna is really jealous and frankly wants to spoil every bit of happiness he has.

"Since they've broken up, she's been bitter. He feels like she's filled with anger and doesn't want to him happy unless it's with her."

Last week, Blac posted, what she claims, is screenshots of Tyga's messages to her, begging for the pair to rekindle their relationship for the sake of their two-year-old son, King Cairo, something which is said to have "stressed" Kylie.

Another insider added to HollywoodLife.com: "This has been the most stressful week of Kylie's entire life! She's being strong and supportive to her loving and adorable father as he's having the moment of his life.

"Meanwhile, her personal life is s**t because she's being attacked by Tyga's crazy ex and now feels he's lying to her and still has feelings for [Blac]."

Senior Lawyer Tan Lam Siong Praised Elson Soh as a Caring Idol

Just concluded his performance in Taiwan recently, Singapore Singer-Songwriter Elson Soh together with Project Awareness initiative volunteer group, treated a total of more than 100 elderly people whom are living alone, to a free breakfast at the neighbourhood coffee shop yesterday. The event was a wonderful success! With volunteers not just from Project Awareness, but also from the People's Association's youth group, T-Net Club, Singapore Polytechnic, and Boon Lay Secondary School, altogether a total of more than 50 volunteers! 

Elson is thankful to all the volunteers and all kind hearted people, who spend their precious Sunday morning, and come all the way down to allow more than 100 elderly people to have the opportunity to gather together for a breakfast and chatting session. Many elderly people expressed that they hope Elson and Project Awareness visit them more often. They also expressed gratitude to all the volunteers at Project Awareness. Within Project Awareness volunteers, it includes members such as, Senior Lawyer Tan Lam Siong, Lifestyle Personality Jacky Goh Kim Nam, and they also received the full support from Artiste Management Robin Heng and Irene Choo! 

Senior Lawyer Tan Lam Siong mentioned that Elson is someone with a kind and loving heart, whom is relatively rare as a Singapore artiste. He also hope that he is able to help more disadvantaged families in his personal capacity together with Elson, and at the same time to encourage more young adults to care and love the community together!

Shaun Chen and Rebecca Lim crowned Best Actor and Best Actress

If there’s one thing we learned from two of last night’s biggest Star Awards 2015 victories, it’s that hard work and perseverance pays off in the end.

Bagging Best Actor and Best Actress, undoubtedly the crème de la crème of all the award categories, was Shaun Chen and Rebecca Lim, two artistes who have been in the industry for a while (Shaun for 13 years and Rebecca for 9) but only gained a refreshed surge of recognition in recent years.

In fact, it was only last week when Shaun picked up the very first trophy of his entire career, while Rebecca was named Best Supporting Actress in 2014.

“It does feel like I’m finally experiencing sweetness after years of bitterness,” Shaun, who also scored a Top 10 Most Popular Male Artiste spot, shared with reporters at the media area after his win. “I feel very encouraged and will continue blazing forward.”

When asked if he left out anyone in his acceptance speech, the Malaysian-born actor lamented that he didn’t even get to finish thanking his colleagues. And what about a certain special someone whom he shyly admitted he was getting to know? “When the time is right I will reveal more, okay?” (We’re holding you to that promise, Shaun.)

Before Shaun was crowned, his good friend and co-star Chen Han Wei made quite a daring statement when he picked up Best Supporting Actor: if Shaun does not win Best Actor, the veteran thespian will resign.

“I was shocked when he said that! But I’m grateful for the close bond we share,” said Shaun.

The chumminess was palpable during Han Wei’s acceptance speech, when he invited Shaun on stage for an impromptu duet and to let him kiss his famous black rose lucky charm. “I really believe some of good luck rubbed off on me – that black rose is no joke!”

With more acting projects coming up (both here and in Taiwan), is Shaun aiming to add more trophies to his fast-growing collection, for instance, a Golden Bell Award like Christopher Lee?

“Of course I hope for one, and not just that, but also many other kinds of awards.”

Making a stellar recovery after her unfortunate tumble on the red carpet (we blame those sky-high heels she was teetering on), a visibly emotional Rebecca looked close to tears when her name was called for Best Actress.

The triumph came as a (nice) surprise not only to herself, but probably to her own family members as well, whom she revealed were not expecting her to win.

On stage, she shared a quote, “Don’t be afraid of slowing down; be afraid of stopping”, which she later disclosed was something that her mother has been telling her for years, but brought up again recently to try and console her in case she left the show empty-handed.

Clearly, that isn’t the case now (she was also included in the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes for the fourth year running), and Becks is going to celebrate with a nice, big supper, especially after days of cutting down on food in order to fit into her dress.

Although she didn’t think she’d win (she didn’t even predict a nomination in the first place), Rebecca was able to list out a possible reason why she found favour with the judges. “This is my first time portraying such a lively and cutesy character, which is different from everything else I’ve done before and from the other nominated roles, so perhaps it provided a refreshing change.”

When we reached out to Pierre Png and Desmond Tan for their thoughts on her success, they both said the exact same thing without hesitation: “I’m very happy for her.”

Pierre said he knew “exactly what Rebecca is going through”, and he should: last year, he won Best Actor despite a rocky start on his command of the Mandarin language – a situation that’s extremely similar to Rebecca’s. “She can’t believe this is happening but she knows she put in 101%, and I want to tell her that she totally deserves it and I’m so glad we proved that hard work never let anybody down.”

Desmond, who was surprisingly left out of the Top 10, was still able to beam when we brought up his BFF. “I was very proud to see her go up on stage to clinch Best Actress, because to me, it’s one of the most important ones, and to see her get that and Best Supporting Actress last year makes me very happy.”

Tiffany Hsu addresses breakup with Ethan Ruan

It’s been close to three weeks since Italian-Taiwanese model-actress Tiffany Hsu announced her breakup with model-actor Ethan Ruan last month. At the press conference for the Taiwan PTS series It’s Time to Wake Up yesterday, her first public appearance since the breakup news, the actress accepted questions regarding her feelings about Ethan.

Although she spoke plenty about the new television series, when it came to speaking about Ethan, her speech slowed down immediately.

During the post-conference interviews, she personally announced her status with Ethan, admitting that the two parted ways for a period of time and adding that she “needed some alone time”.

When she was asked about their relationship status, she admitted, “Everybody is bound to go through a period of breaking up. It’s to leave room for growth.”

Tiffany and Ethan, who have been together for eight years, suddenly declared a “cool-off period” last month, rumoured to be due to Ethan’s cheating.

The media asked about this rumour at the press conference, to which she replied: “I think that this sort of question is very personal and I don’t wish to bother anyone (with the news).”

Tiffany also spoke about how she felt regarding fans’ speculations about the two of them: “I just don’t listen and don’t look at it. What’s most important to me is focusing on what I am doing. Everyone else’s discussions about me are not that important.”

Nick Jonas: Olivia Culpo makes things 'easier'

Nick Jonas says Olivia Culpo makes things "easier".

The 'Jealous' hitmaker has been dating the brunette beauty for two years and loves having Olivia accompany him on the "wild ride".

He told PEOPLE magazine: "I think anytime you have a teammate it makes things a little easier. It has been a wild ride and a crazy year and a half. It's been really special."

The 22-year-old singer previously admitted marrying Olivia would be "ideal".

When asked if he is considering marriage, he said: "At some point. It would be ideal [to settle down], but we're still quite young and we're going on a journey."

And Nick previously revealed he had never celebrated Valentine's Day until he met Olivia.

He said: "Until last year I'd never celebrated it. People put a lot of emphasis on the day, which can be problematic, but last year Olivia and I and two of our friends went on holiday to the Dominican Republic, which happened to fall over Valentine's Day. That was awesome."

But things weren't always perfect for the pair as Nick admitted he would get jealous early in their relationship.

He shared: "I think earlier on in my relationship, there were times where I would get jealous.

"I think with time and trust built up, a lot of that went away. We have a really strong relationship now. It takes a second until you feel really locked in with someone."

Announcer apologises to Junsu for offensive remarks

JYJ’s Junsu, together with his fans, were up in arms after an announcer made offensive remarks against them while the artiste was at a promotional event yesterday (Apr 23)

The event was held in the city of Goyang, which is north of Seoul, and invited Junsu to be its honorary ambassador. Being at the Goyang International Flower Expo had a special significance to Junsu, who grew up in the city.

At the event, emcee Park Sang Do, who is an announcer with broadcasting station SBS, said to the fans gathered, “You have to be good if you want to hear Junsu sing. He won’t be able to sing if we aren’t satisfied.” Announcer Park hosts a breakfast news and talk show titled ‘Let’s Go! Morning Wide’. According to his profile on their site, he has been with SBS since 1993.

He made more questionable remarks after Junsu’s performance, “Should we call him back (on stage)? If you can’t come back and sing some more, at least say goodbye.” Which was followed by, “He really left? Even though we had more time? Even though three congressmen are here? The Hallyu wave is really scary.” once he received confirmation that Junsu had taken his leave.

Lastly, his comment “We’ll try to get a bigger budget (next time) so he can sing three songs” eventually caused Junsu to take to his Twitter account to vent his frustrations. “Even though I don’t know the emcee well, it seems that you should at least have some manners regardless of age. You’re really disrespecting my fans and I.”

He later updated with another post, sharing, “Everyone, even though there was an upsetting incident, let’s stop and let it go for now. Above all, the feeling of having the chance to sing in my hometown after so long was really great. Even though the schedule came at short notice and I only was there for a while, I’m sincerely thankful to those who showed up to support me.”

Announcer Park issued his apology today, sharing that he has “no excuse” for his remarks and that he too felt that his mistake was inexcusable. He ended his apology stating that he will support Junsu’s future activities.

A June wedding for Elva Hsiao and Elroy Cheo?

It is reported that Taiwanese Mandopop singer Elva Hsiao and her Singapore businessman beau Elroy Cheo, the brother-in-law of Vanness Wu, have seen each other’s’ parents and Elroy’s parents have already accepted Elva as their daughter in-law.

On Wednesday, Elva participated in a charity fundraiser organised by the Syin-Lu Social Welfare Foundation by donating purses from her brand, Carry Me, to be sold.

At the event, Elva was asked if their marriage would be held this year, and she replied, “We have no plans as of yet. Marriage should be impulsive. We will probably consider it next month.”

The couple have attended a few weddings together and they have both agreed that they do not want anything too complicated. Just a simple wedding will be enough for them.

Elva hopes the wedding will be by the sea with the sun and the sand. Similarly, Elroy wants a seaside wedding too and since the couple reportedly came to a consensus. All that’s needed is for Elroy to pop the question.

Additionally, she explained that her boyfriend is not a romantic person, but is sincere, appreciative and simple.

Elaine Ng’s relationship with daughter worsens

Less than a week since former Hong Kong beauty queen Elaine Ng reunited with her teenage daughter Etta Ng and was seen to be on good terms with her, the mother-and-daughter’s relationship has taken a sudden turn for the worse after they got into a verbal argument on Tuesday (Mar 21).

Etta had reportedly aired her grievances to her teachers and refused to return home. Despite Elaine’s efforts to appease her daughter by visiting her at her school, Etta refused to meet with her mother.

On Wednesday evening, Elaine spoke to the media outside her daughter’s school, agitatedly recounting the process of their argument and pleading for her daughter to go home.

“My daughter told me that she wanted to have a beer. I thought that since I needed red wine so that I can sleep better, it should be ‘ok’ for her learn to drink some beer. However, I told her that she hasn’t done her homework since she went back to school, but she rebuked that her teachers said it didn’t matter and insisted that all her friends are drinking beer. Hence, I became a little unhappy.”

She continued, “She confided to her teacher in school but refused to come home after that. Are you trying to play a trick on me, Etta? I am (a) single mum, I need to earn money to support the family.” (sic)

Elaine rattled on furiously, emphasising that she does not wish to alert the police again due to her family matters.

Sources who claimed to be Elaine’s close friends also revealed recently that Etta wishes to meet with her father, Hong Kong martial arts actor Jackie Chan, but could not verbalise her wish in her mother’s presence. Etta also awkwardly replied “I can’t say” when the media dropped the question earlier on.

When asked if Etta’s desire to meet with Jackie was the cause of their discord, Elaine clarified that the matters are independent of each other.

She added, “I am also under great pressure. If she is worried that I would be unhappy, why didn’t she be frank about it with me?”

Gigi Hadid's mother gives beauty advice

Gigi Hadid gets beauty advice from her mother.

The 20-year-old model says she prefers to have a natural make up look after learning to appreciate her face in it's raw state from mother Yolanda Foster.

She said: "I've gotten a lot of beauty advice from my mom, but probably the best thing was that she never wore too much makeup and always did really simple looks.

"I grew up thinking that was beautiful. So when I started experimenting with makeup that's what I went for. If you're not a makeup artist and you just try to go for the big looks, it just gets the best of you."

And in order to perfect her natural look, Gigi doesn't like to mess around with her eyebrows in particular.

She added to People magazine: "I don't touch them. On set sometimes if there are little stragglers and the makeup artist wants to clean them up on the bottom I'll let them, but it's never enough to shape my eyebrows. I just don't touch them because I'm scared of like messing them up.

"People always make fun of my eyebrows and think that I shape them this way! But if you see a picture of me from when I was two years old I have the same exact eyebrow shape."

Viewers oppose Kwanghee’s Infinity Challenge appointment

ZE:A’s Kwanghee was formally crowned as Korean variety show Infinity Challenge’s sixth man amidst allegations that the race to secure a fixed position on the highly popular variety show was rigged.

The entertainment programme, which has the highest ratings for its timeslot, is currently hosted by five men consisting of Yoo Jae Suk, Park Myeong Su, Jung Jun Ha, Jung Hyeong Don and HaHa and will see a sixth addition to the team.

The show first announced in early March that they were looking for a sixth cast member to join them after Gil and Noh Hong Chul departed. The shortlisted candidates for the show were Super Junior’s Siwon, Hong Jin Kyung, Kwanghee, Noel’s Kang Kyun Sung and Jang Dong Min.

Prior to the show’s announcement of their decision – which was reached after voting by the current five cast members – reports of Jang Dong Min emerging triumphant surfaced, which were quickly denied by both his agency and the producers of the show.

Following which, sexist and controversial comments made by the comedian in the past were brought up by the media, which included one in which he blasted his stylist for being bad at her job and wanting to “ship her intestines to her parents and make them eat it”.

The witch hunt which followed ultimately led to Jang Dong Min voluntarily bowing out of the competition. Some speculated that the past incidents were brought up purposefully by someone else who was in contention for the spot, leading many fingers to be pointed at Kwanghee due to his company’s bad reputation.

Kwanghee’s label, Star Empire Entertainment, is regarded to have caused Korean actress Lee Tae Im to withdraw from her schedules due to the severe backlash she received in an incident with Jewelry’s Yewon.

Yewon and Lee Tae Im had a confrontation while filming Tutoring Across Generations, in which initial reports claimed that the latter had an unwarranted outburst towards Yewon, cursing and swearing at her for no apparent reason.

It was later revealed through a video recording that Yewon was not as innocent as the company had painted her to be, with her speaking informally and behaving impolitely to the senior entertainer. She has yet to issue a formal apology on the matter.

Star Empire has since been regarded as a company that resorts to underhanded methods to put their artistes in better positions, even at the cost of others’ careers.

The outrage against Kwanghee’s appointment has reached the ears of Infinity Challenge’s producers, who have asked viewers to watch the show with an open heart and have maintained that his place on the show will remain.

Aaron Yan apologises after heated debate with netizens

Taiwanese pop singer Aaron Yan posted a public apology on his Facebook page yesterday evening, only admitting to his scientifically flawed posts on the recent earthquake in Taiwan after staging a heated debate with netizens the entire day.

On Monday (Apr 20) morning, the 29-year-old posted about the 6.6-magnitude earthquake in eastern Taiwan that happened in the wee hours. Aaron tried to provide a reason for the earthquake out of goodwill when he wrote: “Previously, it hasn’t rained for a long time and this week, the sudden downpour caused the overly dry soil to become moist. This has caused the soil to erode and become loose, leading to the series of earthquakes.”

In reply, netizens mocked Aaron for his scientifically inaccurate explanation and criticised him for a lack of geographical knowledge.

Aaron then swiftly published three posts to clarify the issue, insisting that he had never stated that the earthquakes were definitely related to soil erosion. He even cited a statement by Kuo Kai-wen, director of Taiwan’s Seismology Centre, to support his views.

However, Kai-wen rebuked the 29-year-old by stating that “there is no link between soil erosion and the movement of tectonic plates (the common cause of earthquakes)”, causing Aaron to be reprimanded by netizens again for “being a smart aleck” and “refusing to admit to his mistakes”. Others even gave him a satirical nickname “Geography scholar”.

Not able to withstand pressure by netizens, Aaron published an apology at 6 pm in the evening. “I’m sorry that I caused people to worry that I may be imparting flawed knowledge. I really could have handled this issue better, I’m sorry.” 

Paris Hilton doesn't have time for reality TV

Paris Hilton says she is too busy to do another reality TV series.

The 34-year-old star, who rose to fame in 'The Simple Life' alongside childhood friend Nicole Richie in 2003, claims she's been inundated with offers to return to the small screen.

She said: "I get calls every single day from producers and networks begging me to come back to TV, but I'm so busy that I wouldn't have time. I'm focusing on my brand and my business. I don't have time to do a show."

But the socialite misses working on the series and regularly watches season one because it's her "favourite."

She told Nylon magazine: "I miss that show. It was so fun. I still watch it."

The DJ thinks her image has completely changed since she first entered the spotlight.

She said: "Back then I didn't even wear fake eyelashes, and I didn't know about contouring. I didn't really wear a lot of makeup on the show. Now, I have an amazing makeup artist. I love contouring and big eyelashes, and just having fun with makeup. I was more of a tomboy before."

Paris is currently celebrating the 10th anniversary of her debut fragrance.

She said: "It feels amazing, I feel so proud. When I was a little girl I knew I wanted to do big things, but I never thought that I would have my own fragrance empire."

S.M. hopes to keep Tao in EXO

The troubles never end for EXO. In the latest wave of drama, Chinese member Tao’s father uploaded an emotional letter on Weibo last night (Apr 22) asking for his son to leave the group.

He started off the letter stating that he “wrote the letter with complex feelings, because I know my decision will hurt many people, including my son Huang Zitao (Tao’s birth name). Even though I’ve reasoned a lot with him, but in his heart he might still be unable to understand or even hate me for my selfishness.”

Tao’s father emphasised on how much Tao has loved being with his group but stressed that his duty as a father is to ensure that his son can grow up healthily and happily. Stating that Tao has sustained countless injuries throughout his three years in the business, he said that finding out about his son’s accidents through social media has caused him sleepless nights where he worried about Tao’s health.

He reiterated that his motivation behind wanting Tao to leave EXO and return to China was also in order for him to receive treatment for his injuries. He also lamented that Tao had in fact missed the best treatment window, but added that he wants Tao to go home and be able to recover fully.

Adding that S.M. was originally in discussions with him about giving Tao a personal studio in China, he was disappointed to discover in the news that another member (Lay) had managed to establish one first.

This morning, S.M. responded to the news, sharing that while they felt it unfortunate for the letter to have been released in such a manner, they will continue to meet with Tao’s father to reach a constructive direction.