CNA Explains: Why was former actor Ian Fang jailed but not caned for his sexual offences?
SINGAPORE: Former actor Ian Fang was sentenced to 40 months' jail on Monday (May 19) after pleading guilty to sexual offences involving a then 15-year-old minor.
The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual penetration of a girl aged under 16.
Three similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing, along with one count of obstructing justice and one count of stalking.
Social media users commenting on the case have asked why Fang did not receive caning.
Which specific penalties does he face?
Lawyer Sanjiv Vaswani of Vaswani Law Chambers noted that Fang pleaded guilty to two counts under Section 376A(1)(a) and one count under Section 376A(1)(b) of the Penal Code.
The punishment provisions under this section fall under 376A(2) and 376A(3), which take into account different factors.
Section 376A(3) provides the maximum penalty for a person who offends against a minor below 14 years old. The punishment in this case can be up to 20 years' jail, and a fine or caning.
This section does not apply to Fang as the victim was 15 years old at the time of the offences.
The applicable Section 376A(2) has two subsections - 376A(2)(a) and 376A(2)(b) - which provide the maximum penalties for those who commit offences against victims between 14 and 16 years old.
The difference between them, however, is that Section 376A(2)(a) applies to an offender who was in a relationship exploitative of the victim. If sentenced under this provision, an offender can be jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned.
Fang was not sentenced under this.
He was sentenced under Section 376A(2)(b), which excludes the element of an exploitative relationship.
The maximum penalty under this section is a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine, or both. This section does not include caning.
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CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
'He marked my daughter for life': Father of Ian Fang's victim speaks out
SINGAPORE: The family of a teenage girl who fell victim to Ian Fang's sexual offences has expressed dissatisfaction with the former actor's sentence of a 40-month prison term, which does not include caning. 'Mark him for life. He marked my daughter for life,' said the girl's father. 'Let the guy learn. Like that, every time he takes off his clothes, people can see … he did something bad in the past.' Fang, 35, was sentenced in May after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual penetration of a minor. The victim was 15 years old during their sexual encounters in 2024. Her identity is still protected by a court order that also covers her family members. The girl's father said Fang had manipulated his daughter into a sexual relationship. Fang used his fame and age 'to show that he can take care of her … give her a sense of security where probably boys of her age couldn't'. '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 'abused his power' as a teacher and took advantage of the girl, who was infatuated with him because he was a celebrity, the father added. At the time of the offences, Fang was an acting teacher with a child modelling school. Fang was prosecuted under Section 376A(2)(b) of the Penal Code, which does not include caning as a punishment. The section deals with sexual offences against minors aged 14 to 16 which do not have the element of an exploitative relationship. Lawyers have said the assessment on this is a matter of prosecutorial discretion taking into consideration all the available facts and evidence, which may not be publicly known. Fang was a full-time actor with Mediacorp for 12 years until he left the company in 2023. The sexual encounters took place in Fang's home; a hotel where the victim was quarantining with COVID-19; and a hospital where she was nursing the flu. On nearly all of the nine occasions from June to July 2024, they did not use protection. The victim contracted a sexually transmitted infection. Her father added that the family wanted Fang's identity to be exposed 'from the start'. They were 'disgusted' to see from Fang's social media that he was still playing football, working and talking to other people 'like nothing happened', said the father. When Fang was charged in January, the judge initially did not allow him to be named to protect the identity of the victim, who could be linked to him. The gag order was eventually lifted at the prosecution's request. The girl said in her victim impact statement that she was "emotionally stronger" and willing to bear the risk of being identified. 'GIVE HIM AN OSCAR' Fang was not a stranger to the victim's family. He struck up a friendship with the girl's parents after meeting her and her mother at an event. The girl's parents saw Fang as a friend and treated him 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,' said the father. Fang also tried to curry favour by introducing them to other celebrities, he said. There was no suspicion of any inappropriate relationship because Fang and the girl kept up a pretence and behaved normally around her parents. '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.' Fang's sexual encounters with the girl came to light only after she sought treatment for a sexually transmitted infection. Even then, she was reluctant to tell her parents the truth. '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 was also stressed and scared because Fang used the prospect of killing himself or going to jail to threaten her to keep their relationship a secret, said the father. After a police report was made in August 2024, Fang persisted in reaching out to the victim even though investigators instructed him not to contact her. The girl's father recalled a period of a few months when she would be harassed by phone calls from Fang late at night. 'Every single day, by the time it hits around midnight to 2am, that was a crucial timing, I would say. The phone never stops,' he said. When the victim 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. 'And then once in a while, he will blurt out some of the words. And even sometimes, his acting (is) so good, you will hear him cry-cry on the phone.' "MAKE THIS GUY LEARN HIS LESSON" The father also revealed that the family intends to sue the former actor. Mr Richard Siaw, their lawyer, told CNA he 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. These harms include the girl's infection as well as the emotional and psychological suffering as detailed in court documents. She experienced suicidal thoughts after Fang reached out to her while he was under investigation. In phone calls, Fang said he would kill himself if he went to jail. He told the girl to cry in front of her mother and ask not to press charges against him. The girl was warded at the Institute of Mental Health for almost a week in August 2024, and eventually diagnosed with adjustment disorder with depressed mood. In her victim impact statement, she described feeling very dependent on Fang. She believed the only way to keep him close to her was through sex. The offences had an impact on her gender expression. She also said she had become fearful of middle-aged men, did not want men near her, and had lost trust in relationships. Lawyers explained to CNA that it is possible for the family to start a civil claim because criminal and civil proceedings are independent of each other. In criminal proceedings, the state exercises its powers against an offender to seek punishment. In civil proceedings, the victim seeks a personal remedy. This usually takes the form of monetary compensation, which is used as a proxy for the harm suffered. For example, an offender can be ordered to compensate for pain and suffering, and medical fees incurred. The family's lawyers are in the process of reviewing the facts and putting the case together. When contacted, the lawyer who represented Fang in his criminal case had no comment on the matter. The victim's father stressed they were not suing Fang for the money. 'I will never touch a single cent from him. Everything will be donated to a charity. "But I want to make this guy learn his lesson, and why we sue him is because there is no rotan,' he said, referring to the Malay term for cane. '100 PER CENT TRUST' BROKEN The family has become closer through this ordeal, said the father, though he and his wife must reckon with their daughter breaking the trust they placed in her. Before, the girl had never given them reason to worry, and was a good student. So as parents, they took her at her word, he said. But the secrecy of her relationship with Fang meant she would lie to them about her whereabouts, making it difficult for them to find out what was happening. '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," the father told CNA. '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 parents have become more vigilant about their daughter's activities, and now keep track of her whereabouts using the Find My app on her iPhone. She feels regret about her actions under Fang's manipulation, said her father. '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," he said. "But as a parent ... we are trying our best to make her happy again.'
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S'pore has no jurisdiction over Audrey Fang case, can't prosecute suspect if he's deported: MHA Source: Straits Times Article Date: 30 May 2025 Author: Aqil Hamzah & Samuel Devaraj The Ministry of Home Affairs said on May 29 that it has communicated its position to its Spanish counterparts, and that the Singapore Government would assist them within the ambit of Singapore's laws. As the fatal stabbing of Singaporean Audrey Fang took place in Spain, Singapore has no jurisdiction over the alleged murder, and thus would not be able to investigate or prosecute Singaporean suspect Mitchell Ong if he were to be deported. This follows the news on May 28 that an attempt to deport the 44-year-old by Spanish immigration authorities had been rejected by a Spanish court. In response to queries, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on May 29 that it has communicated its position to its Spanish counterparts, and that the Singapore Government would assist them within the ambit of Singapore's laws. Law enforcement agencies there, meanwhile, have told the ministry that they are currently prosecuting Ong in Spain. News of the deportation request being blocked was first reported by Spanish daily La Opinion de Murcia on May 28. The deportation request was made by Spain's General Commissariat for Aliens and Borders, a national police agency that manages immigration and border control matters, and was supported by the lawyer representing Ms Fang's family. However, a judge ruled that Ong did not meet the criteria outlined in Spain's laws pertaining to the expulsion of foreigners, one of which states that immediate deportation can take place if an individual has been charged with a crime and is given a jail sentence of fewer than six years, or is given an alternate sentence, such as a fine. As the minimum jail sentence for Ong's potential murder charge is 15 years, the former insurance agent does not meet this criterion. Ong's lawyer, Ms Maria Jesus Ruiz de Castaneda, had told The Straits Times earlier in May that she is opposing the request. The Spanish immigration authority had also requested that Ong be banned from returning to Spain for 10 years, if the deportation had gone through. Ms Ruiz de Castaneda had earlier told Spanish media that an expulsion would be a violation of the rule of law and international treaties Spain has signed and ratified. 'He is involved in ongoing criminal proceedings in Spain, where he must be tried with due process,' she said. 'Expulsion would be contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, the principle of non-refoulement and Spain's commitments against the death penalty.' She had previously called for the case to be dismissed, saying that all necessary evidence had to be examined and that Ong 'firmly and consistently' insisted he did not kill Ms Fang. Ms Fang, a 39-year-old architect, was found dead near a parking space for lorries in the town of Abanilla on April 10, 2024. She left Singapore on April 4 to travel alone to Xabia in the Valencia region of Spain, and was supposed to return eight days later, but became uncontactable on April 10. Her body was found with knife wounds and head trauma. Ong was arrested six days later. Testimonies from two of Ms Fang's friends on June 26, 2024, said Ms Fang and Ong had met on a social dating network. Her family's lawyer said she had told her friends she was meeting Ong during her holiday in Spain. In March, La Opinion reported that DNA from two men was found on her clothes, raising the possibility that more than one person was involved in her death. Ong, meanwhile, was also found to have been nominated as the sole beneficiary of Ms Fang's Central Provident Fund savings, with the accounts reportedly containing about $498,000. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
