Marcus Chin, 67, Has To Pay S$5K A Month In Alimony & Child Support, Says It's Why He Lives In A Rented Room

Marcus Chin, 67, has lived a very colourful life. Career ups and downs aside, the veteran star made headlines in 2009 when he was exposed for cheating on his wife Taiwanese singer Murong Ying, whom he had been married to for over two decades.

He had an affair with a then-24-year-old Eileen Cheah, who was his fan before becoming his personal assistant, and who eventually bore him his only child, daughter Elise, who is now 11.

At that time, the Chinese media likened his relationship with Eileen to an Old Cow Eating Tender Grass . Yes, very flattering, we know.

While Marcus and Murong Ying remain legally married, they have been separated since his affair. However, he and Eileen, who is now 36, broke up in 2011 a year after she gave birth to Elise.

Though many years have passed since, it still remains one of the most talked about scandals in local showbiz history.

Marcus himself has never shied away from talking about it (His reason? Once you lay it all out, there's nothing more anyone can ask. ) And talk about it he did on this week's episode of Quan Yifeng's talk show Hear U Out.

He revealed he was racked with guilt after his separation from Murong Ying.

“I wasn’t happy after leaving Murong,” Marcus said when Quan Yifeng brought up the topic. “I couldn’t sleep well and I wondered how she was doing… There was a period of time when she didn’t call because she was angry with me, so I didn’t hear for her for a month or two.”

Marcus then asked a friend to drive him to his old flat where Murong continued to live in and he peeked in to see if something had happened to her. He heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that a light inside the apartment was turned on.

When Murong filed a case against him asking for maintenance, Marcus told his lawyer: ‘Don’t argue with her, just go with whatever she wants.’

The judge eventually ruled that he had to pay her S$4,000 monthly, a sum he's still paying today.

Although Eileen is now married to another man, Marcus continues to give her S$1,000 in child support a month.

According to Marcus, his S$5K monthly commitment to Murong and Eileen is why he’s still renting a room instead of owning his own place. It's also why he's still working so hard.

“I spend about S$1,000 on transport, and if you take my rent into account, it adds up to about two or three thousand,” he said.

Yifeng asked if retirement is on the cards for Marcus, who cheekily said, “Sure, I’ll retire immediately if you pay the S$5K every month for me.”

Here's the video for Part 1 of Marcus' interview on Hear U Out:

And here's Part 2:

Marcus' interview on Hear U Out is now available on meWATCH. Click here to watch Part 1 and here to watch Part 2.

Photos: Mediacorp, Marcus Chin's Facebook