SHU WHO?
Extra barricades at airport, but no buzz despite Asian sexpot's arrival here
By Wendy Teo
January 12, 2007
THIS near-empty arrival hall was what greeted actress and sex bomb Shu Qi when she swooped into town for a private function.
No screaming fans, no banners.
Just plenty of space.
The New Paper received a tip-off that the 31-year-old would arrive from Hong Kong on flight SQ857 at 2pm yesterday.
The actress, who can currently be seen in the movie Confession Of Pain, is here at the invitation of lifestyle products company Osim.
She flew in to make an appearance at a dinner it hosted yesterday for some 600 business associates and clients.
Shu Qi does not, however, officially endorse any Osim products.
She did go up on stage at the Osim event to lounge on their latest massage chair though.
According to The Business Times, she said in Mandarin: 'The chair is so comfortable, I nearly fell asleep and messed up my hair.'
It was quiet when we turned up at Changi Airport's Terminal 2.
HUSH-HUSH
The only indication that someone important was arriving was a row of barricades outside Belt 34.
There seemed to be just eight people, including this reporter and photojournalist Hedy Khoo, to welcome Shu Qi.
The other six were staff from Osim and its PR firm.
Ms Deserine Lim, Osim's assistant manager of branding and strategic marketing, said Shu Qi's fans here had not been informed about her visit.
It was meant to be all hush-hush.
The security measures did stir some interest though.
We overheard a pair of cleaners chatting in Mandarin.
Their conclusion: 'Bu yong deng lah, mei shen me hao kan (no need to wait, nothing much to see).'
A curious pilot also came over to this reporter and asked who was arriving.
When told it was Shu Qi, he said 'Wow!' with a grin, before wheeling his luggage away.
Limousine driver Lawrence Wang, 52, was waiting to pick up a client who was arriving on the same flight.
But he had no idea who Shu Qi was.
Mr Wang said: 'Is she a singer? I spend 12 to 16 hours a day working.
'I have no time to watch TV, so I wouldn't know who she is. Maybe when I see her, I will recognise her.'
But his client was among the first to step out of the restricted area, and the driver had to leave before Shu Qi was anywhere to be seen.
Ten minutes later, at about 2.30pm, we spotted Shu Qi and her minders at the luggage collection area.
She was covered up in a brown long-sleeved turtleneck and jeans, her long tresses loose under a pink cap. She wore a pair of shades. Nondescript.
If not for her being taller - 1.68m plus heels - it would have been hard to make her out from the others in her group.
She walked briskly into the arrival hall, stopping only briefly to receive a bouquet of white lilies which had been prepared for her.
We managed to get to within arm's length of the actress and threw her a question, which seemed to startle her.
She lowered her head and walked straight on, refusing to acknowledge us.
The airport security people then stepped forward to stop us from getting close. They also used their hands to block the photographer's lens.
NOT IMPRESSED
Within seconds, Shu Qi had hopped into a waiting MPV and was whisked away.
Mr Albert Ng, 38, who works at the airport, wasn't very impressed.
'We have stars arriving at the airport all the time. Just recently, we saw Chow Yun Fatt. I've also seen Shu Qi before... it's no big deal,' he said.
Another airport employee, who declined to be named, told us: 'When we see the barricades, we know an important person is arriving. But you know, real VVIPS use another exit.'
The lack of fan turnout could also be due to the type of celebrity hitting our shores.
Often, teenage fans of boy bands and pop idols will try every means to find out the flight schedule if they receive a tip off that their favourite celebrity is coming here.
And more often than not, these fans tend to be young girls, whereas Shu Qi is better known for her appeal to the opposite sex.
Said business development manager Wan Kum Keet, 30 : 'I think she's very attractive, but I'm too old to go to the airport and wait for the stars to appear, even though she's a sex bomb.'
According to Ms Lim, Shu Qi is flying back to Hong Kong today.
And probably no one even knew she was coming. 
