SINGAPORE — From calling her “grandmother” to phoning her several times a week from China for “chit-chats”, details of how former tour guide Yang Yin charmed his way into elderly widow Chung Khin Chun’s life emerged in court on Friday (July 1).

The details were provided by the widow’s long-time friend Chang Phie Chin, 86, when she took the stand as the third prosecution witness in Yang Yin’s trial.

The 42-year-old Chinese national, who is caught in a longstanding legal battle over the 89-year-old widow’s financial assets, is being tried for two charges of criminal breach.

Madam Chang, a retired Chinese language teacher, has known Madam Chung for nearly six decades, and moved into her bungalow in 2005.

“She heard that I was going to buy a three-room flat. She told me not to buy it, saying that she had a vacant room. I would move in to stay with her, so that we could keep each other company,” she testified in Mandarin.

The same year, Mdm Chang met Yang during a holiday to Shanghai, China. He was her tour guide.

In 2006, Yang came to Singapore for a travel fair, and met Mdm Chung, the elderly widow, for the first time.

Mdm Chang knew that Yang, now 42, liked paintings, and suggested that he come to the bungalow – which had a gallery full of paintings – for a viewing session.

Subsequently, the two women hired Yang as a tour guide during a 2008 trip to Beijing, China. Yang addressed them affectionately as “grandmother”, and they, in turn, called him “Xiao Yang”.

After the three-week vacation, Yang kept in contact with the women over the phone, calling them several times a week to “chit-chat”.

“I chatted with (Yang) about 10 times over a period of two weeks. Subsequently, I told Mdm Chung not to call me to pick up the calls. I felt there was no point. (There was) not much content in the conversations,” said Mdm Chang.

In February 2009, Yang came to Singapore and stayed in the bungalow for a month. The interaction between Mdm Chung and Yang was “nothing special”, said Mdm Chang.

He often went out during the day, and returned to have dinner with the two women. He also told them that he would be resigning from his job after returning to China, and was preparing to come to Singapore to work.

In September 2009, Mdm Chung’s long-time driver stopped working for her.

“Subsequently, I heard from Mdm Chung that the driver strangled Yang Yin’s neck and their relationship soured,” said Mdm Chang.

Another long-serving employee, who handled odd jobs around the bungalow, left in 2011 for reasons unknown to her.

Mdm Chang will return to court on Monday to complete her testimony.