Singaporean artiste Fang Weijie, better known as former actor Ian Fang, has been sentenced to 40 months’ jail for sexual offences committed against a minor.
Fang, 35, pleaded guilty on May 19 to three counts of sexually penetrating an underage girl.
Five other charges including sexual penetration of an underage girl, harassment and obstructing the course of justice, were taken into account during sentencing.
He will begin his sentence on June 16.
Fang was identified in court after District Judge Eddy Tham lifted the gag order on his identity following an application by the prosecution.
The judge said that while the main focus of the gag order was to protect the victim from further harm, he would take the wishes of the victim and her family to reveal his identity.
The victim cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order. She was 15 at the time of the offences.
In sentencing Fang, the judge said: “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 victim for the sole purpose of saving his own neck, without any concern for her welfare, also led to more harm to the victim.”
Fang first met the teen at an entertainment event in May 2024, and exchanged contact details with her, Deputy Public Prosecutor Lynda Lee told the court.
The pair conversed daily and grew closer.
Between June and July 2024, Fang had sex with the teen on nine occasions.
The prosecution said he had unprotected sex with the teen on five of the occasions. He used a condom only when she insisted.
DPP Lee said Fang met the teen alone under the cover of night on each occasion, which she said showed he had planned to have sex with the teen.
This continued even when the teen was hospitalised and placed in a private room for a flu infection.
Fang waited until after midnight to visit her, after ensuring she was alone. He had sex with her in the hospital room that night.
The girl later saw a doctor after experiencing pain in her genitals. She was diagnosed with the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted infection.
The girl’s mother made a police report some time in August after speaking to the teen and learning that the pair had been having sexual relations.
DPP Lee said the girl developed depression and had suicidal thoughts after Fang kept contacting her to ask her to persuade her mother to withdraw the charges.
She was eventually admitted to the Institute of Mental Health and diagnosed with adjustment disorder.
“She lost her confidence and was no longer happy. She will continue to live with the burden of Mr Fang’s actions, even with the conclusion of this case,” said DPP Lee. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
