Former actor Fang Weijie, better known as Ian Fang, surrendered himself to the State Courts just before noon on June 16 to begin his 40-month jail sentence.
The 35-year-old had 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.
Fang, who was accompanied by his mother, spoke to the media outside the State Courts.
“I definitely will try my best to be a better person, a better version of myself. It is an expensive and very huge mistake that I need to pay off.
“I believe it will definitely make me a better person. I really hope that everyone can give me a chance, to show that I can be the person you want me to be,” he said, bowing after he made the comments.
His mother, who did not identify herself, said they want to apologise to everyone.
“Please give him a chance,” she added.
Fang had pleaded guilty on May 19 to sexual offences against a student, who was 15 years old at the time. She cannot be named because of a court-imposed gag order.
He first met the victim on May 4, 2024, at an entertainment event and exchanged contact details with her. The pair conversed daily and grew closer.
Between June and July 2024, Fang had sex with the teen on nine occasions.
In earlier proceedings, the prosecution said he had unprotected sex with the teen on five of the occasions. He used a condom only when she insisted.
At the time of the offences, Fang was employed as an acting teacher at First Model, a modelling school for children aged between four and 14.
He was previously an actor with national broadcaster Mediacorp until May 2023.
The girl’s mother made a police report in August 2024, after she learnt that the pair had been having sexual relations.
After police investigations began, Fang got in touch with the girl through social media, asking her to contact him despite being warned by officers not to contact her.
During their conversations, he told her he would kill himself if he had to go to jail.
The prosecution said the girl had suicidal thoughts after Fang kept contacting her to ask her to persuade her mother to withdraw the charges.
The teen was eventually admitted to the Institute of Mental Health and diagnosed with adjustment disorder.
The prosecution said that she will “continue to live with the burden of Fang’s actions, even with the conclusion of this case”.
The former actor was identified in court after District Judge Eddy Tham lifted the gag order on his identity following an application by the prosecution.
In sentencing him, the judge said that Fang knew what he was doing each time he visited the teen.
“It was not a one-off event. He had taken advantage of an emotional vulnerability,” the judge said.
“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.”
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Andrew Wong for The Straits Times
Former actor Ian Fang surrenders to court to begin 40-month jail sentence
