Former actor Huang Yiliang allegedly assaulted by chicken rice stall owner’s husband, cause of row revealed
Former actor Huang Yiliang was allegedly assaulted by the husband of a neighbouring chicken rice stall owner he had been clashing with, after accusing her of spreading rumours about an improper romantic relationship between him and his assistant.
News of the incident began circulating online on the evening of May 10. A video shared by Facebook user Walter Oh showed Huang, clad in a red polo shirt, being attended to by paramedics outside his Old Fisherman stall in Circuit Road Hawker Centre.
He was later wheeled away as a crowd of curious onlookers gathered.
In response to Stomp’s queries, the police said they received a call for assistance at Circuit Road Hawker Centre at about 6pm on May 10.
“Upon arrival, officers established that a 64-year-old man was assaulted by a 60-year-old man. The 64-year-old man was conveyed conscious to the hospital and the 60-year-old man is assisting with investigations,” the spokesperson said.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed that one person was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
The incident comes as tensions boil over from an ongoing conflict between the pair, which began with a viral five-second video showing them shouting and pointing aggressively at each other outside their respective stalls.
Enah, the stall owner of the Hainanese chicken rice stall, had accused the actor-turned-hawker of alleging she was in multiple relationships with men and demanded a public apology.
Wanted clarification over accusations
When Stomp reached out to Enah, she confirmed her husband had assaulted Huang.
She said she had wanted to seek clarification over what she described as Huang’s “untrue” accusations. Huang had told Chinese news outlet 8world that their initial conflict arose because Enah had been pestering him daily about his relationship with his female stall assistant.
In the same 8world video, Enah denied this, claiming instead that Huang’s assistant said the former actor wanted to “hug and kiss” her.
Enah did not elaborate further about the May 10 altercation. She said she had lodged a police report and would leave the matter to authorities, adding that she no longer wished to speak to the media.
Moments before the incident at Circuit Road Hawker Centre
In an interview with The Straits Times, Huang said before the altercation, Enah had called his assistant over to a table outside her stall, where the female owner’s husband was waiting.
Knowing the assistant did not wish to speak to the couple, Huang instructed his assistant to continue preparing food. He then alleged that the couple started shouting to disperse the queue at his stall.
Huang retaliated, saying his customers were not frightened by the shouting.
When Huang stepped out of his stall, he felt someone hit his right ear from behind, causing him to fall forward. Adding that he was “shocked and in pain”, Huang was assisted to a table outside his stall before paramedics arrived.
Allegedly spread rumours about improper relationship
Huang accused Enah of spreading rumours about an improper relationship between him and his assistant. He categorically denied having an affair with her.
His assistant, who declined to be named, said she had occasionally rested at Huang’s flat when she first joined as a full-time employee in March.
She would nap on the sofa in Huang’s living room while he rested in his room, during the stall’s closure between 2pm and 4pm. They would then return to his stall to prepare for dinner service.
However, the 50-year-old later converted to part-time, working evening and weekend shifts, as she found it hard to work at a hawker stall full-time. After that, she no longer went to Huang’s flat for afternoon breaks.
About a month ago, the assistant said she was chatting with Enah and mentioned she rested at Huang’s flat in the afternoon.
Enah then asked in Mandarin if she and Huang “had slept”. Assuming the question referred to taking a nap in the afternoon, the assistant replied “yes”.
Huang later heard from other hawkers that Enah had allegedly been spreading rumours that they were “sleeping together”.
“I want to make it clear that there is nothing going on between Yiliang and me,” the assistant told ST.
Asked Huang if she could be his assistant
Huang said Enah had a hostile attitude towards him ever since he took over the neighbouring stall. He claimed she had scolded him and his plumber for the dust generated by renovation works and complained that it affected her business.
Huang also alleged that Enah had approached him at least five times, asking to be his stall assistant, before the viral altercation, which happened on a Sunday afternoon in early April.
“I was so taken aback, I did not respond. The fifth time she asked me, I responded by asking her, ‘What about your own stall? How can you assist me since you are running your own stall alone?’” he said.
Despite these encounters, Huang said he continued to greet her whenever he saw her until he caught wind of her allegedly spreading the relationship rumours.
Suffered business losses from altercation
Following the assault, Huang was discharged from hospital at 10pm on the same day and given three days of medical leave and painkillers.
Though there was no bleeding, the seafood hawker said his right ear and jaw hurt.
As a result of the hospital visit, Huang was unable to fulfil advance Mother’s Day orders, resulting in losses he estimated at several hundred dollars.
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