Discovering that a celebrity could commit such horrendous acts against a child is both heartbreaking and shocking. Yesterday (Monday, 19th May), former Singaporean actor Ian Fang, previously associated with MediaCorp, reportedly pleaded guilty to three counts of sexually penetrating a minor.
As a result, he has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for his crimes. Five additional charges, including sexual penetration of an underage girl, harassment, and obstructing the course of justice, were taken into consideration during sentencing.
“As a 34-year-old adult man, he knew what he was doing. He knew what was likely to take place each time he visited the victim. It was not a one-off event. He had taken advantage of an emotional vulnerability. His attempt to gaslight the [15-year-old] victim for the sole purpose of saving his own neck, without any concern for her welfare, also led to more harm to the victim,” said District Judge Eddy Tham.
According to The Straits Times, Ian Fang met the unnamed victim at an entertainment event in May 2024, where they exchanged contact information. The pair grew closer, eventually engaging in sexual intercourse in secrecy during nighttime on several occasions between June and July 2024. It was reported that the actor had manipulated the victim into believing he was her lover. Even when the teen was hospitalised for a flu infection, the former MediaCorp star would visit her in the middle of the night to commit the sexual offence on her hospital bed.
It wasn’t until August 2024 that the girl’s mother discovered the relationship and filed a police report against Ian. Despite being warned by police not to contact the victim, the actor continued to reach out to her via social media, even threatening to take his own life if he were to be jailed over the incident. Unfortunately for the victim, Deputy Public Prosecutor Lynda Lee told the court that she developed depression as a result of the persistent messages Ian had sent, urging her to convince her mother to drop the charges.
The victim was then eventually admitted to the Institute of Mental Health and was diagnosed with adjustment disorder. Ian Fang has deactivated all his social media pages following sexual offence charges. His sentence will begin on 16th July.
Sources: TheStraitsTimes, AsiaOne, TheSunDaily
