Hypnosis scam? Chen Hanwei recounts being duped at Singapore carpark

Local actor Chen Hanwei recalled being approached by a couple with an infant in a Mercedes-Benz at Paragon mall's carpark, years before the Covid-19 pandemic.

"When I saw the three of them at first, I didn't think it could be a scam," recounted the 56-year-old to AsiaOne. 

He said the man proceeded to open his car boot, which was full of bottles of red wine, telling Hanwei that his bar had closed down and asked if he would like to purchase a few bottles of the leftover wine.

Despite Hanwei thanking the man, telling him he doesn't drink alcohol, the man persisted.

"It's very strange, I took out my wallet and handed $100 to him," Hanwei said.

When he came to his senses, he realised he was holding two bottles of wine.

"There's a shop that sells wine upstairs, so I went and asked what wine I had bought. As I entered the shop, the boss laughed and said, 'Another victim, the wine was actually not of good quality and just worth $5'," Hanwei recounted.

"I believed I was hypnotised."

Reflecting on his experience, he warned that one should exercise vigilance, especially when speaking to strangers in person or over the phone. 

"Don't speak to them for too long, because they could hypnotise you through their voices or smell, or they could confuse you through WhatsApp messages."

Working with a Japanese production team for the first time

Hanwei was sharing the experience with AsiaOne during a promotion for his new drama Lost and Found, in which he plays Chiang Boon Teck.

This six-episodes series tells the story of introverted online gamer Richie Chiang (Shawn Thia) who has a tense relationship with his father Boon Teck (Hanwei) over his mother's death during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is co-produced by local production company Mocha Chai Laboratories and Empire of Arkadia with Japan's production company TV Man Union.

Richie's life is thrown into chaos when his online girlfriend Sakura disappears one day. Desperate to find her, he travels to Tokyo, where he meets his new gaming partner Yuka Uchida (Anna Yamada), who harbors secrets of her own.

While searching for Sakura, they become entangled in the underworld, and get themselves involved in scams, human trafficking and illegal labour.

Hanwei said this is his first time working with a Japanese production team and while he would only be filming for three days, he has been observing and learning their working styles.

"I observed how meticulous the Japanese director was during filming, he would take every little detail into account, such as the actor's actions, where their hands were placed, their expressions and whether it would look awkward," he shared.

"They would notice these things because they emphasise natural acting and that's the acting style that I appreciate too."

The drama also marks one of Hanwei's rare appearances in an international production. He shared that he had wanted to take on more such projects earlier, but the right role and timing hadn't come along.

He added: "I was busier previously, because I would usually film one drama after another. In the recent two years, there have been less roles for me because of my age, so there are more opportunities for me to be exposed to international productions. 

"I also hope to participate in more international works, especially [those from] Taiwan, because I like the working culture on set. I think they had improved a lot in recent years."

He said that while most of his dialogue is in Mandarin, he had to speak some English and Japanese in the drama as well — that latter which made him recall his experience of learning the language in the past.

Hanwei shared that he spent about a year teaching himself Japanese previously, inspired by his fondness for anime like Doraemon, and achieved basic fluency. However, as he didn't have a chance to practice that language, he eventually forgot about it.

"I am willing to learn it again if needed," he said.

Lost and Found is also the second time Hanwei and Shawn have performed together. They had acted together in the local drama Genie in A Cup (2022).

On Shawn, Hanwei said: "I think he has become more mature. Now he has his own opinions and will bring them up during the performance. I think that's what an actor should do; they should form their own opinions and discuss them with the director. So, I think he did quite well in this regard."

Recharging for inspiration and breakthrough in acting

While Hanwei said there have been lesser roles he can play at his age, he had been viewing this positively.

He shared: "I think actors will meet an awkward stage at different ages. For example, for actors in their 30s or 40s, they can't act as idols, they also can't play fathers, because they are too young. 

"When they are in their 50s, they can't play grandfathers, but there aren't many father roles as well. Because at this age, usually their children will be in their teens and there aren't many dramas for teenagers in Mediacorp."

He added that while he has learnt to accept this, he still feels sad at times as he's usually busy working on projects.

"But when I thought about it later, it was actually not a bad thing because I could slow down and spend time seeing the world and recharge myself. I hope these gives me a new sprint in performing and another breakthrough in acting."

Lost and Found will be released on Mewatch and Japan broadcaster NHK Japan and NHK World in 2026.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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