KNOWN to her fans as the little Hokkien Heavenly Queen, singer Dong Meiyan is used to getting a passionate response from her audience.

But what happened on Thursday night took her completely by surprise.

Ms Dong was in the middle of a performance at a temple celebration in Penang when a man charged onstage.

He took out a vegetable knife and attacked the shocked singer.

All Ms Dong could do was to raise her hands to ward off the blows.

She was slashed three times on her left shoulder and arm in the process.

The singer's father, Mr Dong Tiancai, told Guang Ming Daily that at the time of the incident, his daughter had just taken a break after singing some Hokkien songs.

The attack came right after she changed her outfit backstage before appearing again to resume her performance.

Mr Dong said: 'My daughter was singing Christmas songs then.

 'Some of her fans below the stage saw this man open his bag and take out a knife before running up on stage to attack her.'

Mr Dong added that after he slashed MsDong, the attacker attempted to jump off the stage and escape.

Some helpful audience members surrounded the suspect and managed to subdue him.

They later handed him over to the police.

One of Ms Dong's old fans also helped send her to the hospital.

All the other performances for the rest of the night were cancelled, following the dramatic scene on stage.

The crowd dispersed soon after.

Ms Dong is currently recovering in hospital.

Her condition is stable.

She told Guang Ming Daily: 'He (her attacker) often turns up where I am performing. I'm not very familiar with him, though I've chatted with him before.'

She added that he had once told her that a woman singer had stolen his child and his valuables.

She had no idea if he was telling the truth.

Ms Dong added: 'Although I have no intention of giving up my beloved singing career due to this attack, I am very frightened by the incident.

'It may affect my future performances.'

She said that she hoped the man who injured her would be punished by the law, and also thanked her fans for their help and support.

The singer, who also goes by the nickname 'Xiao Yanzi' (Mandarin for little swallow), is popular in the northern part of Malaysia.

She has released two albums so far, and is said to be planning a third.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Dec 14, 2008.