Actor Ian Fang jailed 40 months for sexual offences with minor, gag order lifted on his identity
A gag order on Ian Fang's identity was lifted after an application by the prosecution.
Former actor Ian Fang Weijie (wearing a black face mask), walking to the State Courts on May 19, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
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. She referred to the victim's impact statement, in which the girl stated that people who knew both of them may guess at her identity.
The victim also stated 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 may be identified through Fang's identity. 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 issued a fresh gag order on details leading to the victim's identification, but excluded Fang's name.
Fang was a full-time
actor with Mediacorp for 12 years until he left the media company in 2023.
Ian Fang. (Photo: Instagram/Ian_ianization)
OFFENCES
At the time of the offences, Fang, then 34, 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.
Between Jun 6 and Jul 28, 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, 2024, Fang checked the victim into a hotel as she had contracted COVID-19.
That night, he 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, 2024, the victim left the hotel room to meet Fang, who asked to see her.
At about 12am on Jun 13, 2024, 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, 2024, 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 that her daughter had been having sex with Fang and forbade the girl from contacting him. The mother called the police on Aug 3, 2024.
By then, the victim was feeling depressed and had been crying every day.
Fang, who was instructed by an investigation officer not to contact the victim, still 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.
Fang was arrested on Aug 4, 2024 and released on bail the next day.
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.
Born in Shanghai and educated in Singapore, he made his showbusiness 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 drama like Served HOT (2014) and Tiger Mum (2015).
Source: CNA/wt