Father of Ian Fang's victim speaks out, affirms decision to sue the ex-actor

New Paper

2 days ago

Following the declaration by the victim's mother that she was "going to sue Ian Fang until he goes bankrupt", the girl's father spoke to CNA to recount his side of the story.
"Let the guy learn," said the girl's father.
"Mark him for life. He marked my daughter for life."
Ex-actor Ian Fang, 35, was sentenced to 40 months' jail for sexual offences committed against the girl before she turned 16.
He had sex with the teen on nine occasions between June and July 2024, mostly unprotected, which led to her contracting human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually-transmitted disease.
The girl and her family's identity are protected by a court order, while the gag order on Fang's identity was lifted following an application by the prosecution.
Speaking to CNA, the victim's father said that his daughter was manipulated by Fang.
"He knew that at that age you are still quite naive, immature. Your thoughts are all over the place, you don't know how to really make decisions."
He accused Fang of using his age and celebrity status "to show that he could take care of her… give her a sense of security where probably boys of her age couldn't".
Fang "abused his power" to take advantage of her while she was infatuated with him, he said.
The family was "disgusted" to see Fang, whom they once considered a friend, actively posting on social media "like nothing happened".
Oscar-winning performance
Fang met the girl and her mother at an event. He befriended the girl's parents and was even treated to dinners.
"We had drinks with him and everything. (He) called me 'bro' and this and that. And then behind my back, he's (having sex with) my daughter."
The father also claimed that Fang introduced the family to other celebrities to win them over.
"He would meet us and act like nothing has happened. And he will ask my daughter to play along," the father said.
"We didn't know at all. He played his acting role so well. Speechless, speechless. Really give him an Oscar for that."
The girl only confessed to their relationship after she contracted HPV from Fang.
"What my wife had to do was basically tell her: 'Okay, you need to tell us who did this to you, because if you don't tell us, I'm not going to pay for your medical fees'.
"And when she (saw) her health, her situation was that bad - that's how we actually managed to squeeze it out from her, all this information."
The girl's father revealed that Fang pressured her to keep their relationship a secret by using the prospect of him going to jail, and the extreme of killing himself.
Even after a police report was filed in August 2024, Fang continued contacting the girl despite being instructed not to.
"Every single day, by the time it hits around midnight to 2am, that was a crucial timing, I would say. The phone never stops," said the girl's father.
When she blocked one phone number, Fang would call again from another number.
"And whenever she (picked) up the phone call, he wouldn't speak. He would just play songs, like those love songs and those Chinese love songs."
The ex-actor would sometimes then "blurt out some of the words" and cry.
Breakdown of trust
Before meeting Fang, the victim had never given her parents a reason to worry as she was a good student, said her father.
However, her relationship with the then-34-year-old made her dishonest about her whereabouts.
"If she tells us she's going to school or she's going for her lessons, we'll just (say) 'okay, sure'. We never go and CSI really what's going on."
"We always gave our full 100 per cent trust to her. So we didn't know that that's how she went out with him and stuff like that. We didn't know at all."
The girl's parents now keep track of their daughter's whereabouts using the location-tracking app on her phone.
The victim's father told CNA that his daughter now feels regret for her actions during her relationship with Fang.
"She's getting better, definitely, but it takes time … now we just spend more time with her, focus on her studies, focus on what she enjoys doing."
"However she's feeling, we can't really know what is going (on) you know."
"But as a parent ... we are trying our best to make her happy again."
No caning
Fang was charged under Section 376A(2)(b) of the Penal Code, which does not include caning as punishment.
The section deals with sexual offences against minors which do not carry the element of an exploitative relationship.
CNA reported that their lawyer Richard Siaw has been "instructed to commence civil proceedings against Fang for harms inflicted on the victim, to get redress over and above the sentence for criminal offences".
Suicidal thoughts surfaced after Fang reached out to the victim to threaten to kill himself if he went to jail.
He instructed her to cry in front of her mother so that she would not press charges against him.
The girl was warded at the Institute of Mental Health for almost a week in August 2024, and was later diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depressed mood.
In her victim impact statement, she said she felt very dependent on Fang and believed the only way to keep him close to her was to have sex.
She also stated that she had become fearful of middle-aged men and had lost trust in relationships.
CNA reported that a civil claim is viable, as criminal and civil proceedings are independent of each other.
The family's lawyers are currently putting the case together.
When contacted by CNA, the lawyer who represented Fang in his criminal case did not make a comment on the matter.
The victim's father emphasised they were not suing Fang for monetary compensation, but to teach him a "lesson".
"I will never touch a single cent from him. Everything will be donated to a charity," he said.
"But I want to make this guy learn his lesson, and why we sue him is because there is no rotan (Malay for cane)."