Woman accused of making fake ex-DBS CEO 'Piyush Gupta' LinkedIn post blames social media manager, Singapore News
PUBLISHED ON May 26, 2025 10:37 AM By Khoo Yi-Hang
Janney Hujic, the woman who purportedly made a LinkedIn post claiming to have met ex-DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, has claimed in an interview with 8world last Saturday (May 24) that the post was made by her social media manager.
The 30-year-old Hujic claimed in the interview that the now-deleted post was uploaded in order to drive engagement and was done so without her permission.
In screenshots shared by Hujic, messages in a WhatsApp chat with the "social media manager" stated: "Post has over 6k engagement. Pay me 5k SGD and I take it down."
According to the "manager", the profile was "down" and he had changed the access details to it.
"When I get paid I give you back access," the manager said.
Hujic told 8world that she had hired the freelance "manager" based in the Philippines to create engagement.
Hujic, who used to work with DBS, had travelled to Bali in May and met a Singaporean man who she mistook for Gupta.
A photograph of her with the man, later identified as Kumar H Subramaniam, was uploaded to her LinkedIn account, along with a post that claimed she had met Gupta.
Gupta then commented on the post, clarifying that the man in the picture wasn't him.
Account held hostage?
Speaking with 8world, Hujic explained that she had contacted the manager after receiving a recommendation from a friend, and offered to pay $1 per engagement with her post to the manager.
Not only did the manager have access to her LinkedIn account, they were also added to a chat group where Hujic shared pictures with her friends, she said.
While she had initially uploaded the photograph to her friends and uploading it on Instagram, jokingly captioning, "Oh my god, it's him," Hujic claimed that she did not expect the social media manager to use this photograph to make the LinkedIn post.
While this was happening, she claimed she had no Internet access as she was in Vietnam for a trip, exploring a cave.
When she got back online on Saturday, Hujic, who runs a travel agency offering "bespoke" travel experiences, claimed that she was unable to log in to either her LinkedIn or Instagram accounts.
Hujic and her partner claimed that they have since paid the social media manager an unspecified amount, but still have not been able to log back in, she told 8world.
'Racism at work': Kumar
Meanwhile, Kumar clarified with local media that Hujic and her partner were aware that he is not Gupta, also adding that he has been mistaken for the ex-CEO before.
Kumar, who works as a teacher in Bali, has lived in Indonesia for 25 years after leaving Singapore.
"She said she used to work at DBS and we had a laugh," he recalled.
He also remembered that they had joked about pranking Hujic's friends with his semblance, Kumar said.
"But I never, at any point, said I was Gupta — and I definitely did not agree for my photo to be used to promote any business or social venture."
Kumar highlighted the racist comments that were made following Hujic's post, specifically ones that referred to "scam centres" or alluding to all Indian men being "the same".
"This is racism at work," he stated. "Bald Indian men with glasses look alike?"
Kumar said he is not planning to take legal action, explaining that this is "just an online storm in a teacup", suggesting that it will blow over soon.
"I just want people to stop stereotyping and making offensive remarks. That's all," he said.
[[nid:626881]]
khooyihang@asiaone.com
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