01-08-2025
Entrepreneur Ethel Neo's car almost broken into in broad daylight in Sydney
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Ms Ethel Neo was with her husband Peter Lau to get some groceries in Sydney when their car window was smashed.
Singaporean entrepreneur Ethel Neo had a recent scare in 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,' Ms Neo, 34, told The Straits Times in an email interview. 'We parked streetside at Ultimo Road in Haymarket'.
She is married to Mr Peter Lau, 40, and they also run food brand Chu Collagen. The couple 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 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.
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'At that moment, I suddenly recalled the two men who were looking at us earlier and suspected that they could be the culprits,' she said. 'The window remained intact and nothing was stolen, and we are safe.'
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 the glass did not shatter partly because of the solar film.
The entrepreneur is taking precautions after the incident.
'We are changing to a wider angle dash cam,' she said. 'We will be more careful about the areas where we park.'
Ms Neo said the parking ticket she displayed in the car showed how long the vehicle was parked.
'Anyone walking past your car can estimate how long you've been gone, and how much longer you'll be away,' she said. 'This gave the perpetrators information to decide if they want to strike.'
This was the second time Ms Neo's family had experienced a similiar incident in Australia in almost two months.
Mr Lau disclosed on Instagram on June 11 that the storage cage at their apartment's carpark was broken into. He was in Australia at that time to prepare for the family's move there.
'The padlock was still locked and intact but the latch was pried, twisted and broken to gain entry,' he wrote then. 'Thankfully, nothing was stolen because I simply kept empty boxes of the things I bought in the cage.'
Ms Neo told The Straits Times that she moved to Australia over a month ago as she wanted, as 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 said.
Ms Neo said Singaporeans often take safety for granted and a tourist once described Singapore as 'Disneyland for adults'.
'In Singapore, it's normal to walk home at 10pm and feel completely safe,' she said. 'Here, in certain areas, 10pm feels like midnight - dark, quiet, almost eerie. It's simply not safe to be out this late here.'
She added: 'It's only after leaving Singapore that you realise how precious that kind of safety is.'
