20-05-2025
Ex-Mediacorp actress Le Yao condemns Ian Fang: 'You want the benefits from the limelight but don't set strict standards for yourself?'
Former Mediacorp actress Le Yao has condemned Ian Fang after the latter was sentenced to jail for sexual offences against a minor.
In a scathing Instagram post today (May 20), the 42-year-old, also known as Zully Le, wrote that celebrity status is a "double-edged sword".
"You want to enjoy the benefits from the limelight but don't set strict standards for yourself? You want to have social influence and make a lot of money, but don't obey the law and be a good citizen?" she added.
"It's impossible to be so greedy as to 'have it all'."
Le Yao wrote that she had recently read some local news that made her emotional. Though she did not mention Ian by name in her post, she later confirmed to 8World that she was referring to him.
The 35-year-old former Mediacorp actor pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual penetration of a girl under 16. Three similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing, along with one count of obstructing justice and one count of stalking.
He received 40 months' jail on May 19, with his sentence expected to start in June.
Le Yao, who hails from Shanghai like Ian, also touched on Ian's role as an acting teacher with a modelling school during the time of his offences, where he was teaching children aged four to 14.
"Every adult is a role model and mentor for the younger generation. Children will look at things naively and believe in their teachers," Le Yao wrote. "Parents also teach them this way: Listen to teachers.
"So as a practitioner in the education industry and a mother, I firmly resist people with bad morals entering the education industry. "
Le Yao pursued a diploma in the Teaching Chinese Language course at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2010 and currently teaches at a speech and drama centre.
She added that people may firstly "not have the professional knowledge to teach" but secondly, if they have "bad conduct", they should avoid the industry to "not bring irreparable harm to the new generation of young people".
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Le Yao started her showbiz career with Mediacorp after placing as a finalist in Star Search 2001. Her acting credits include The Unbeatables III (2002), Holland V (2003), The Oath (2011) and My Friends from Afar (2017).
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