Former actor Ian Fang jailed 40 months for sexual offences against minor

SINGAPORE: Former actor Ian Fang was sentenced to 40 months' jail on Monday (May 19) after pleading guilty to sexual offences involving a minor.

The 35-year-old's identity was made public on Monday after a gag order was lifted. 

Fang, whose registered name is Fang Wei Jie, pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual penetration of a girl under 16. Three similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing, along with one count of obstructing justice and one count of stalking.

A gag order remains on the identity of the victim, who was 15 at the time of the offences in 2024. Fang was 34 when the pair met at an entertainment event. 

The prosecution, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Lynda Lee, applied to have the gag order on Fang's identity lifted on Monday. The girl stated in her victim impact statement that she was now "emotionally stronger" and was willing to bear the risk of being eventually identified.

Fang's lawyer Noelle Teoh objected to lifting the gag order, arguing that the victim could be identified as a result. Ms Teoh said that at least 30 people have seen Fang and the victim socially at events, adding that no one can guarantee how being identified will impact the victim.

Noting the defence's concerns, the prosecution replied that it had taken steps to remove identifying details from court documents. 

District Judge Eddy Tham said the courts needed to tread a balance between protecting victims and the need for open, transparent justice. 

He noted the wishes of the victim and her family in this case and issued a fresh gag order, which excluded Fang's name. 

Fang was a full-time actor with Mediacorp for 12 years until he left the media company in 2023. Born in Shanghai and educated in Singapore, Fang is a Singapore permanent resident. 

OFFENCES

At the time of the offences, Fang was an acting teacher with a child modelling school which provides classes for students aged four to 14.

Fang met the victim at an entertainment event in May 2024, according to court documents. They exchanged contact details and chatted nearly every day. 

In June 2024, Fang engaged in mostly unprotected sexual acts with the victim on nine occasions. He knew that the victim was only 15. 

On Jun 6, the victim's mother checked her into a hotel as the victim had contracted COVID-19. 

That night, Fang visited her in her hotel room, where they had sex. By then, she had started seeing Fang as a boyfriend, but he told her to keep mum about their relationship. 

On Jun 12, the victim left the hotel room to meet Fang, who asked to see her. At about 12am on Jun 13, the pair went to Fang's home where they engaged in unprotected sex. She returned to the hotel room later that morning. 

The court heard that the victim's mother would check in on her daughter at the hotel room at about 12pm. 

"When the victim arrived at her hotel room at about 10am, the accused texted her to chat with her.

"During the chat, he had asked if she was 'safe', which meant whether she managed to evade (her mother's) detection given that she left the hotel room earlier," the prosecution told the court. 

On Jun 17, the victim was admitted to a hospital for a flu infection and was staying in a private room. Her mother was with her but left for home later on. 

At around midnight, after ensuring that the victim was alone, Fang visited her and the two had unprotected sex. 

The victim's mother eventually found out about the sexual encounters and forbade the girl from contacting him. The mother called the police on Aug 3.

Fang was arrested on Aug 4 and released on bail the next day. 

IMPACT ON VICTIM

By then, the victim was feeling depressed and had been crying every day. 

Despite instructions from an investigation officer not to contact the victim, Fang reached out to the victim through social media. He told her that he could not be the one contacting her, but that she would have to contact him instead. 

"The victim who still had feelings for the accused obliged and called him," Ms Lee said.

"During their phone conversations, the accused kept talking about how he would commit suicide if he went to jail.

"The accused also asked the victim to cry before (her mother) and tell her that she did not want him to go to jail and not to press charges against him."

This made the victim feel worse and she started having suicidal thoughts. She was admitted into the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) from Aug 23 to Aug 28, 2024 and diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depressed mood. 

While the victim decided to cease contact with Fang, he continued to harass her by contacting her multiple times. 

On Sep 22, 2024, Fang called the victim 18 times and sent her a WhatsApp message referring to the victim's close friend. That same month, Fang logged into the victim’s virtual room in a karaoke application.

SENTENCING ARGUMENTS

Submitting for a jail term of 36 to 40 months, Ms Lee cited a high degree of exploitation by Fang and the "significant psychological and emotional harm" suffered by the victim. 

In her victim impact statement, the girl described feeling very dependent on the accused emotionally, including how she felt that the only way to keep him close to her was through sex.

"After the offences were discovered, she had daily crying bouts. Arising from her high dependence on the accused, she resumed contact with him," said Ms Lee.

"Instead of finding support, she found herself at the receiving end of the accused’s anxiety about the police investigations, and his pleas to her to persuade her mother to withdraw the case against him."  

The impact statement also stated a marked change in the victim, who has lost her confidence and expressed a fear of middle-aged men.

"It bears noting that, notwithstanding the outcome of this case, the victim will continue to live with the knowledge that her very first sexual encounter was one that was wrong and ended with criminal proceedings," said Ms Lee. 

Ms Teoh, the defence lawyer, sought no more than 32 months' jail for Fang, whom she said apologised to the victim, her family and those who looked up to him. 

The lawyer said Fang had been in a romantic relationship with the victim. 

"He met the victim through a mutual friend, and their relationship had developed naturally over time. They bonded over shared interests and similar life experiences, (which led) to a genuine relationship between them where the victim had regarded the accused as her boyfriend," said Ms Teoh, who sought to differentiate the case from precedents. 

She said Fang had only intended to support the victim as he had a "natural tendency" to help those around him. 

Ms Teoh disagreed with the prosecution's argument that there was a high degree of exploitation in his case, as court documents did not state that Fang had pressured the victim and there was no coercion involved. 

"While the accused did meet the victim at private locations, often during late hours and had asked her to keep their relationship a secret, this was not done with malicious intent but rather out of a desire to maintain discretion and privacy," said Ms Teoh, highlighting Fang's profile as a media personality as his reason for wanting to avoid unwanted attention. 

Judge Tham, noting Fang's age at the time of the offences, said he had known what he was doing and what was likely to happen each time he visited the victim. 

It was not a one-off incident where Fang acted on the spur of the moment, Judge Tham said. Instead, Fang had "taken advantage" of the victim's naivety and emotional vulnerability, he said. 

The judge added that Fang's attempt to "gaslight the victim" for the sole purpose of "saving his own neck" was egregious. 

Fang had not cared for the victim's welfare and had breached the investigation officer's instructions not to contact the victim, the judge said.

He allowed Fang to defer his jail term to Jun 16 to settle his personal affairs after increasing his bail by S$10,000 (US$7,700).

Fang made his show business debut in 2011 and shot to fame with the youth-themed drama On The Fringe. 

He won Mediacorp’s Star Award for Best Newcomer in 2013 and went on to play leading roles in dramas like Served HOT (2014) and Tiger Mum (2015).

After completing his contract with Mediacorp, Fang became an independent creator and expanded his career into music, entrepreneurship and content creation, according to the defence. He has since put most of his projects on hold due to the court case.

Editor's note: This article previously stated that it was Fang, and not the victim's mother, who checked the victim into a hotel when she contracted COVID-19. We apologise for the error.