M’sian Star Joey Chua, 29, Makes Emotional IG Post About Lost Plushie, Which Hotel In Korea Trashed After She Checked Out Without Packing It

Malaysian singer-actress Joey Chua, 29, aka Taiwanese actor Wang Ta Lu’s girlfriend, was recently in Korea for a holiday, when something unfortunate happened to her. Or rather, her precious plushie of 25 years.

She forgot to pack her plushie and left it in the hotel room, which was then disposed of before she could retrieve it.

While that might not seem like an issue to some, those who’ve kept their childhood ‘chou chou’, or precious soft toy, into adulthood would be able to relate to Joey. 

The star shared a lengthy, emotional Instagram post about how she lost her plushie. 

She first told the story of how she really wanted to have a pet dog when she was four. Her mum, who presumably did not feel her young child could handle the responsibility, decided to buy her a soft toy dog instead.

Although she felt “a little unhappy and sad” about not getting the real thing, she revealed that her soft toy dog had “accompanied her ever since” she was a toddler. 

“When I got a beating from my mum, I would hug it while crying. While I was growing up, whether I was facing challenges or [celebrating happy occasions], I would be holding [my soft toy]. Its ears are full of my tears and snot,” she wrote.

In the 25 years that she’s owned it, Joey’s plushie had “only taken four baths”. 

Once, when her mum secretly washed the plushie while Joey was not at home, she immediately noticed that something “was not right” with it when they were reunited. 

She added: “I like how dirty it is, I didn’t allow anyone else to touch it. I would get angry [if they did]. My mum, siblings, and close friends all knew not to touch it.”

When Joey was busy carving out a career for herself overseas, it was her plushie that made her “feel at home” wherever she was.

Sadly, Joey lost her precious plushie during her recent trip to Korea. 

“The dog doll that has been with me for 25 years, when I checked out yesterday, I left it on the hotel bed, and the hotel threw it away as trash (sic). They said they didn’t know where the garbage truck [went]. It makes me sad that the hotel didn’t keep it for me and threw it as trash. My friends in Korea, [which] garbage factory [should I go to] to find [it]?” she wrote in her initial caption, in which she also tagged the Stanford Hotel Myeongdong. 

She has since edited her caption to tell the story about her chou chou, complete with a message to it. 

Joey expressed her guilt for losing her plushie, worried that it might “think” that she “didn’t want it anymore”. 

She wrote to her plushie: “I really love you, although you were tattered and torn.”

“I would patch its ears, tail and buttocks up. Every time I patched it up, I would wonder if it felt pain. You guys might think that I’m mad, but it was my best friend and family member. When I spoke to it, Ta Lu would wonder [what I’m doing],” she added. 

Ta Lu eventually got attached to her plushie too, and even took it out filming once, making Joey feel ‘jealous’ that the toy did not just belong to her anymore. 

“I’m really sad. Losing my chou chou is like losing a family member,” she wrote. 

She ended her post with an apology to her plushie: “I’m sorry that the 29-year-old me forgot about you. [Maybe] you’re telling me that it’s time to grow up. Thank you for helping me grow into an adorable girl, thank you for your company, you’ll always be my best friend.”

Joey’s followers and influencer friends, including Michiyo and Gladish, were sympathetic, and left comments comforting her.

“I would cry to death”, “My chou chou has been with me all this time, even when I got married and had kids. I know how you feel”, and “It will always support you from afar”, were just some of the comments on her post.

Photos: Joey Chua/ Instagram