Leng Yein is one of Malaysia’s most popular DJ’s – although arguably as famous for her plastic surgery procedures, and expansive bust-line, as she is for her skills behind the decks. Her popularity in Southeast is unparalleled, getting flown around and playing gigs from Taipei to Macau with regional superstars.
However, last night things took a turn for the dark, with Leng Yein posting a pleading Facebook live video, telling her followers that she was under great distress, that someone was forcing themselves into a room, and that they had turned off the Wi-Fi.
The comments on the clip range from asking her to “take care,” to flat-out calling her dramatic and attention-seeking.
Perhaps reaching a breaking point of frustration, four hours later she posted a lengthy statement claiming abuse from her partner that had spanned the last two years, along with painful photos of the damage he is said to have inflicted.
Her account is painful, and familiar to victims of domestic violence: Silence. Shame. Emotional abuse intended to wear-down the victim. Threats were made on her life, and on that of her family’s. Misguided forgiveness, and attempts to understand where her attacker was coming from.
Finally, a conclusion that she had to choose life, that what was happening was wrong and that she had to use her platform to stop other women being victims of domestic violence.
She says her attacker is a lawyer, and someone well-connected with law enforcement and the legal system. She also says that her Facebook live video came hours after flying into Malaysia following emergency surgery in Taiwan. Her bandages are visible throughout the clip.
It’s been a rough few weeks for Leng.
Earlier this month she faced a life-threatening condition while in Taiwan. After eating seafood, she unwittingly developed an infection from the food she had just consumed in her lymph nodes. Unaware of the severity and thinking it was a sore back, she slept on her front only to have the infection spread to her left breast.
The area filled with pus, and she was forced to have her left implant removed. She was put on drips for five hours every day while the surrounding tissue was cleared of infection, and even had a tube inserted into her chest that she had to carry around.
Say what you will about her music, maybe disagree with her asthetics, but there is one thing that is very certain if you have been following her career over the last few years: Leng Yein has an insane work ethic. She will play back to back gigs from one country to the next, and has openly admitted that she has a whole family that depends on her.
With her tube inserted, and blood bag in hand like a clutch, she traveled to Macau to perform a gig, and followed it up the next night with another engagement in Penang.
She then flew back to Taiwan to have her chest reconstructed, returning to Malaysia yesterday only to have last night’s incident occur.
Today’s post is unsettling: As a figure who has built her career on an aesthetic that is too good to be true, of unattainable proportions and features, she has stripped it all away with the most raw images you can see on a Friday morning.
Of pain. Of blood. Of matted hair, and terrified eyes.
How incredibly brave, Leng. We hope that you can overcome this and recover from your surgeries, and emotional and physical distress soon.
