Being models, they rely on their good looks for their income.

But an altercation at a post-clubbing supper at Circular Road on Thursday morning could leave Miss Kuek Ziyi, 23, and two of her friends, Miss Anna Huang, 21, and Miss Esther Lee, 19, without jobs for a while.

The trio suffered bruises and scratches all over their bodies after a confrontation with a man who appeared to be drunk.

Miss Kuek was driving to a coffee shop at Circular Road at about 3am when she saw the man blocking her path.

"That was when I horned him, but he got angrier and started kicking at the side of the car," she said.

She continued driving and looked for a parking lot.

But the man, who looked to be in his late 20s, followed them and continued shouting at them.

He also kicked her car, dislodging the bumper.

The man, who was with a group of about 10 friends, then opened the passenger door and acted aggressively towards Miss Huang. When Miss Kuek got out of the car, the man turned his attention to her.

"He was standing extremely close to me and I pushed him away. That was when he became violent and punched my face twice," said Miss Kuek, who suffered bruises to her jaw and cheeks.

Two of the man's friends pulled him back after he hit her.

"One of them asked me to let it go. And I was willing to do that, but I asked him to apologise," said Miss Kuek.

The man refused, so Miss Kuek threatened to call the police. He then ran to the main road and tried to hail a cab.

She followed him and took a video of him with her smartphone.

He grew more agitated after seeing this, and pushed her onto the road. When her friends tried to stop him, he did the same to them.

Miss Huang hit her head on the kerb and vomited blood later. She was warded at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for a night as a result.

Miss Lee, on the other hand, had scratches on her arms and legs.

The incident ended only when police officers arrived at the scene.

A police spokesman said that officers advised the parties involved to settle the dispute amicably.

Miss Kuek said that there were bystanders around, but they did not step forward to help.

"In fact, some of them were just taking videos," she said.

When asked why she followed the man to record the video, she said: "I was so angry that I did not want to let it go. I do not regret it because I wanted to hold him responsible... He needs to account for his actions."

The ordeal is not yet over for the three models.

Says Miss Kuek, who was a finalist at the Miss Singapore World 2011 pageant: "I was supposed to work as a model at ZoukOut on Friday and Saturday but because I was hurt, I wasn't able to. And I lost about $400 because of that."

Miss Huang, on the other hand, decided to go to work on Friday night despite only being discharged that morning. But she was still suffering from a bad headache and had to leave after a few hours.

Miss Kuek also lamented that with bruises on her face, arms and legs, it would be difficult to get modelling assignments.

"This is especially frustrating because December is typically the busiest month and now I'm forced to dip into my savings," she said. The women plan to press charges against their attacker, as well as to seek compensation for income lost.

They have been advised to file a magistrate's complaint.

Lawyer Luke Lee of Luke Lee & Co said that this is standard police procedure. He said: "After the complaint is lodged, the magistrate will then decide if the crime is worth prosecuting. Then it will become a criminal procedure."

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