SINGAPORE - Singaporean Cheryl Yap Lay Leng, who triggered a search when her family reported her as missing earlier this year, is back in Singapore with her Romanian boyfriend Alexandru Donea.

Ms Yap, 25, had travelled to Romania in January with her mother, Madam Foo Li Kheng, 61, to meet Mr Donea, 18.

They left without informing Cheryl's father, Mr Yap, who became worried that his wife and daughter were victims of a scam.

But soon after, the two women were found.

They were staying with Mr Donea and his parents at their home in Vulturesti, a village commune in Olt County about 150km from Bucharest.

Now, Mr Donea and his mother, Aurelia, are in Singapore to visit the Yaps.

The teenager and his mother told Shin Min Daily News that they reached Singapore about two weeks ago and plan to stay for three months.

In a Facebook post on March 12, Mrs Donea posted a photo of her, her son, Ms Yap and Madam Foo in a mall with the caption: "In Singapore with my daughter and son shopping!"

She also uploaded photos of Housing Board flats and Singapore roads in another post which was geo-tagged "Singapore".

Mr Yap said that he does not object to the romance, and just wants his daughter to be safe, Shin Min reported.

Ms Yap and Mr Donea have been in a long-distance relationship for more than two years, and have said they plan to marry. The two got to know each other because of manga, and both their YouTube accounts are updated frequently with manga-related videos and songs.

Mr Donea has said earlier that he hopes to marry Ms Yap in the next one to two years and settle down in the United States.