Jack Neo's daughter Ethel's car window gets smashed in Sydney
Lim Ruey Yan
The Straits Times
August 1, 2025
Singaporean entrepreneur Ethel Neo recently had a scare in Sydney, Australia, where she is currently based.
The founder of jewellery line Eclat by Oui revealed on Instagram Stories on July 29 that her car window was smashed in broad daylight.
"We went to Market City Shopping Centre in Haymarket for a grocery run," the 33-year-old told The Straits Times in an e-mail interview. "We parked streetside at Ultimo Road in Haymarket."
She is married to Mr Peter Lau, 40. The couple, who also run food brand Chu Collagen, have two sons aged four and six who were in school at the time of the incident.
Ms Neo recalled seeing two men looking in their direction when she alighted from the car.
"They were cleaning up a shop undergoing renovation. At that time, I didn't think much about it and walked over to the shopping centre," said the daughter of Singaporean film-maker Jack Neo.
She was shocked to see cracks on the car window on the passenger side when they returned after 45 minutes.
"At that moment, I suddenly recalled the two men who were looking at us earlier and suspected they could be the culprits," she said. "The window remained intact, nothing was stolen and we are safe."
Ms Neo said the parking ticket she displayed in the car showed how long the vehicle had been parked.
"Anyone walking past your car can estimate how long you've been gone and how much longer you'll be away," she added. "This gives the perpetrators information to decide if they want to strike."
Ms Neo and her husband made a police report immediately, she said, and the police are investigating. The couple have also booked an appointment with their insurer and authorised car repair workshop to fix the car on Aug 6.
"Thankfully, we were able to claim full insurance to replace our broken window," she said, adding that the glass did not shatter partly because of the solar film.
She is taking precautions after the incident.
"We are changing to a wider angle dashcam," she said. "We will be more careful about the areas where we park."
This was the second time in almost two months that Ms Neo's family has experienced such an incident in Australia.
On June 11, Mr Lau disclosed on Instagram that the storage cage at their apartment's carpark had been broken into. He was in Australia at the time to prepare for the family's move there.
"The padlock was still locked and intact, but the latch had been pried, twisted and broken to gain entry," he wrote. "Thankfully, nothing was stolen because I simply kept in the cage empty boxes of the things I bought."
Ms Neo told ST she had moved to Australia over a month ago as she wanted the family to experience life outside Singapore.
"I am currently managing my businesses remotely with a Singapore team and starting a new business in Australia," she added.
Ms Neo said Singaporeans often take safety for granted, with a tourist once describing Singapore as "Disneyland for adults" on a YouTube channel.
She added: "In Singapore, it's normal to walk home at 10pm and feel completely safe. (In Sydney), in certain areas, 10pm feels like midnight - dark, quiet, almost eerie. It's simply not safe to be out this late here."
"It's only after leaving Singapore that you realise how precious that kind of safety is."
