'He's a changed man': Cathay busker Jeff Ng's wife defends him as others spill on his 'entitled attitude'

Can this leopard change his spots? According to Cathay busker Jeff Ng's wife, he can and already has.

Jeff made a public apology yesterday (July 1) and his wife Zona Tay came to his defence following a number of allegations made public by multiple parties, including one by his ex-girlfriend who accused him of being the culprit of their abusive relationship.

"Jeff is a responsible person, and he respects [and] treats me well unlike what others are saying,"  Zona wrote.

She added that Jeff would care for her, reminding her to relax or unwind with her friends, even sacrificing sleep to make sure she was alright or provide her with any help she needed.

"He is also an extremely filial son-in-law who makes effort to spend time with my parents weekly despite his busy schedule," Zona said. "Jeff is a changed man and he's an awesome husband."

The two were married last June.

Despite her ardent support for her husband, she is faced with many allegations from multiple sources that claim Jeff has an "entitled attitude" — Zona herself has also come under fire.

Responding to Zona's comment, a netizen alleged that Zona and Jeff had patronised a retail store and demanded to be attended to immediately, claiming that they were "internet-famous".

"You do not want to join the queue and expect to be [attended to] immediately like your husband," the netizen said, addressing Zona. 

"Retailers or frontline [workers] do not owe your husband and yourself any single thing and we do not give shortcuts because he is 'internet-famous' and [you are the] wife of someone 'internet-famous'."

The netizen emphasised that all customers would be treated equally and that the couple's offensive attitude towards retailers was not appreciated.

Another exhibit of Jeff's alleged attitude problems came from within the music industry — musician Khim Ng shared more information about the popular busker.

Speaking on behalf of people that "know him" in the industry, Khim said that Jeff has an "entitled attitude" towards his work.

"No major live bar outlets will dare to hire him," said Khim. "Apparently he still scolds patrons for 'making noise' during his sets… There's no entitlement for any of us that's been in the scene longer than him to behave this way. So why should he?"

Khim explained that the customers' fun and pleasure ought to be the entertainers' priority when performing, which Jeff didn't respect.

And it isn't just the audience who have felt Jeff's alleged entitled behaviour — even sound crews have been targeted by the busker.

Jeff purportedly wrote in a Facebook post after a performance at the Esplanade Concourse before his popularity surged online: "Worst performance ever with the worst [sound team] in Esplanade."

"It is my last time there even if I make it big one day, unless they can… tour me around and give me the best sound and theatre before the show."

Jeff then went on to flame the "head of Esplanade sound department" for hiring inexperienced crew members, causing the audience to have a bad impression of him after his performance.

"Where is the justice?" he wrote.

Outside of the music scene, Jeff also caught some flak when another upset musician posted her complaints of him in August 2016.

According to musician Ariane Goh, she had planned a trip with three others including Jeff, from August 22 to 29 between Singapore and Taiwan.

However, Jeff cancelled his trip due to personal reasons and Ariane travelled with the remaining two to Taiwan.

But difficulties arose when she found out that the return flight date was changed to August 24 by someone with access to the itinerary, whom she claimed could only be Jeff.

"Changes were made on our day of departure, August 22, while we were on the flight to Taipei, with no WiFi access on board," Ariane said. "I really would like to believe that it was an accident… but logic tells me that it is not possible."

In a Facebook post yesterday, Ariane posited a possible reason for Jeff's alleged sabotage of her flight plans.

"I met Lena Ng and convinced her to walk out of her toxic relationship and 'got punished' by Jeff for doing so," Ariane said.

Lena is Jeff's ex-girlfriend, who revealed in a lengthy Facebook post earlier yesterday that she was previously in an abusive relationship with Jeff. She said that he gaslighted her into thinking that the wrongs in their relationship were her fault.

"I was genuinely too damaged and helpless to function. A lot of the people I knew had either been cut away, or misled by him," she wrote.

"[Jeff] is the worst person I've ever met." 

READ ALSO: Interviews of him are full of 'lies': Cathay busker Jeff Ng's ex-girlfriend speaks out on his 'abuse'

khooyihang@asiaone.com