Veteran S'pore singer Chin Hwai, 87, & wife, 47, reportedly headed for divorce

Veteran local singer Chin Whai (Qin Huai), 87, is reportedly headed for divorce with his wife of nine years.

His 47-year-old wife, Li Yujie, who is 40 years his junior, filed for divorce in January, according to Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min).

Chin, known as the "King of Charity Singing" in the 1960s, married Li in November 2015. He was 78, and she was 38 at the time.

Li, who is from China's Qingdao city, runs the "Mo Yu Zhai" art gallery at North Bridge Road.

Reasons for the divorce

One incident which soured their marriage, Li told Shin Min, was when she was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Apr. 10, 2023.

Li said she had advised Chin to stay at his sister's house as she didn't want him to get infected.

But after Chin left the next day, he did not return, Li said.

"I called the police because I couldn't contact him. We subsequently met a few times, but they were brief meetings of around five to 10 minutes", said Li.

Li's divorce papers claimed that the couple had unsuccessfully tried artificial insemination five times, that Chin had broken his promise to transfer ownership of a house to her, and that he had not shown concern to her on multiple occasions when she contracted Covid-19.

Li told Shin Min that when she needed to apply for a permit to stay in Singapore, Chin did not help her and was uncontactable.

Li further claimed that he did not give her alimony and made life difficult for her, such as by cancelling her phone line and closing the bank account for the "Mo Yu Zhai" art gallery, which she runs.

Li's divorce papers estimated the total value of the marital assets to be between S$2 million and S$4.99 million.

Li added that both parties and their lawyers have agreed to attend mediation proceedings for the divorce.

Shin Min was unable to contact Chin for comment.

In May 2023, there were rumours that Chin and Li's marriage was on the rocks, but Chin had refuted them, Shin Min reported.

Background

Chin, a local singer-songwriter, had his heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, and was known for singing in charity events.

The former teacher clinched singing awards in Singapore and Hong Kong, and appeared in two films, according to Roots.

Chin's first marriage to actress Yu Chien ended in divorce, according to The Straits Times.

Yu died in 2000 of cancer. They have two sons.

Eight years before they got married, Chin and Li met at a friend's exhibition in Singapore.

After discovering their mutual love for art, they dated for more than a year before tying the knot in 2015.

This is also Li's second marriage.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News/National Archives of Singapore