chao keng

From Teochew 臭 (cao³, “dirty, ill-reputed”) + 經 / 经 (gêng¹, “to evade; to pass the buck”).

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sʰaʊ˦˨ ˈk˭eŋ˦], [ˈt͡ʃʰ-]

chao keng (invariable)

1. (Singlish) To malinger, to skive, to shirk one's duties (especially, military duties) by feigning illness or reporting sick.
   • 1997 April 10, Ng, “Open letter to all NS boys”, in soc.culture.singapore‎^[1] (Usenet):

     I chao keng. I idle. What is pride?

   • 2015 October 19, “Guys, here are 10 foods that will make your skin glow and hopefully help you get some”, in Mothership:

     That said, going back for reservist training would without a doubt be a pain — digging up all your old gear, your uniform and your dusty field pack once a year is enough to make you wish you chao kenged during your NSF days.

   • 2017, Max West, How To Forge A Frogman, →ISBN:

     I couldn't actually bring myself to chao keng, but though it was only 4 km, that march was one of the tougher evolutions we've done.

   • 2017 April 26, “Are the new sentencing principles for NS defaulters fair?”, in The Online Citizen:

     I would argue that those who 'slack' or 'chao keng' are probably more a threat to our national security than a defaulter who has postponed his NS, but done well while in NS.

   • 2017 September 18, “If you're too sick for work, this startup lets you get your MC online”, in Asia One:

     I'm willing to bet all of us have tried to chao keng our way out of work sometime in the past, myself included.

   • 2018 May 3, “To Prevent More Deaths Like Pte Dave Lee’s, Chao Keng Culture Must End”, in Rice‎^[2]:

     For the longest time, there’s existed the rampant problem of soldiers malingering, or more colloquially “chao keng”, to excuse themselves from training. This has led to the deep-seated mistrust of soldiers who report sick or declare themselves unfit.

• keng

• kengster

• chongake