NUS PhD student reported missing in France

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is appealing for information on the whereabouts of Cui Luchao, a PhD student from the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) programme at NUS, who has gone missing in France.

The 27-year-old, who hails from Henan province in China, has been “uncontactable in recent weeks”, said NUS in a press release on Tuesday.

He was to have returned to Singapore on 29 July, but did not board the flight out of Paris.

Cui, who is currently working on his doctorate in Chemical & Pharmaceutical Engineering, has been on a research attachment at the Institut de Chimie Moleculaire de I’Universite de Bourgogne (ICMUB) in Dijon, France, since 4 May. As part of his attachment, Cui had participated in the International Symposium on Homogeneous Catalysis in Toulouse from 9 to 13 July.

He was last seen by ICMUB staff at the symposium in Toulouse on 12 July. Telephone calls made by ICMUB and SMA faculty to Cui’s mobile phone have also gone unanswered.

According to an NUS spokesperson, CCTV footage obtained by the French authorities from the hostel Cui had been staying in Touluse showed him making a call on his mobile phone on 17 July within hostel grounds.

The French authorities are said to be investigating this matter and a missing reports person report has also been filed in both France and Singapore.

The NUS spokesperson added, “At NUS, the safety and well-being of all our students is a top priority. SMA faculty and administrators will continue to work closely with the ICMUB team in Dijon, the French authorities, as well as the Chinese embassies in Singapore and France to locate Mr Cui.”

Cui graduated from the Nanyang Technological University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering with First Class Honours.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Cui can contact Juliana Chai at the Singapore-MIT Alliance at NUS at (65) 6516-1347 and through email at smaccy@nus.edu.sg.