Huang Yiliang Dispute At Circuit Road Hawker Centre: What Happened?

A dispute between former actor-turned-hawker Huang Yiliang and a neighbouring chicken rice stall owner has taken a dramatic turn, with the 64-year-old reportedly being sent to hospital after an alleged altercation yesterday (May 10).

According to The Straits Times, Yiliang was taken by ambulance to Tan Tock Seng Hospital following an incident at his stall, Old Fisherman, at Circuit Road Hawker Centre.

Videos circulating on social media show Yiliang seated at a table while paramedics attend to him, as a crowd gathers around.

Other clips also show him being wheeled on a stretcher and taken into an ambulance.

Yiliang said he was preparing orders at about 6pm when tensions flared.

He alleged that the woman who runs the chicken rice stall next to his, identified as Lihua, had called over his 50-year-old his female assistant to a table where Lihua’s husband was waiting. Knowing that his assistant was uncomfortable, Yiliang said he told her to return to the stall.

According to Yiliang, the couple then began shouting, which he believed was an attempt to disperse the crowd queueing at his stall.

When he stepped out, he claimed he was struck from behind on his right ear and fell forward. He alleged that the blow came from Lihua’s husband.

He said he was shocked and in pain, adding that bystanders later helped him to a table before an ambulance arrived.

He said he suffered pain in his ear and jaw, though there was no bleeding, and was discharged later that night with painkillers and three days’ medical leave.

Police were quoted as saying that a 64-year-old man was assaulted by a 60-year-old man, who is currently assisting with investigations.

The saga first made headlines last week after a video of Yiliang arguing with Lihua at the same hawker centre went viral.

In the clip, the pair were seen yelling at each other, with Yiliang heard hurling Hokkien expletives and calling Lihua a “chicken”, a derogatory term for a prostitute.

Both parties later shared differing accounts with 8world, with the disagreement said to have stemmed from remarks involving Yiliang’s female assistant.

He alleged that Lihua had spread rumours about him having an improper relationship with his stall assistant.

“I definitely am not having an affair with her,” he said.

According to Yiliang, his assistant, who is not in good health, would rest at his nearby home during the break between lunch and dinner service before returning to work in the evening.

He claimed Lihua had repeatedly asked the assistant if she had gone to his home to rest and whether she had slept with him, and had even spread such claims to others, allegations he said angered him and led to the confrontation.

However, Lihua denied this, alleging instead that the assistant was the one who told her that Yiliang had asked her to stay over and wanted “hugs and kisses”.

The assistant has since refuted that claim, maintaining that her relationship with Yiliang is strictly professional and that she only rested at his home during breaks.

Yiliang also said tensions between him and Lihua had existed prior to the incident, citing disagreements over renovation works at his stall. However, Lihua disputed this in her interview with 8world, saying they initially had a good relationship and that she had even offered him advice on running his stall.

The latest development has sparked a flurry of reactions online, with netizens divided over what happened.

Some felt the situation should not have escalated, especially after the assistant clarified her relationship with Yiliang.

“Violence is never correct,” wrote one netizen, while another commented: “Why can’t people just leave him alone and let him lead his normal life?”

Others expressed sympathy for Yiliang, with one saying: “He just wants to earn a living. Causing injury to people is too much.”

“I don’t like him, but this issue is not his fault,” another added.

At the same time, not everyone was sympathetic, with some netizens pointing out Yiliang’s past controversies, including a 2021 case in which he was sentenced to 10 months’ jail for assaulting a worker he had hired.

Some also called for calm, with one comment reading: “Be nice and kind to each other — that’s all it takes.”