The former actor and sex offender has officially been handed a lifetime ‘No Entry’ to our shores

Ian Fang outside the courts in June last year. Screen shot: cna/YouTube

Ian Fang Weijie (方威捷) is not wanted here. Our borders are officially closed to the former actor. His island privileges have been revoked, permanently as of today. According to recent media reports, Mr Fang’s PR status was revoked—while he was serving his 40-month jail sentence. This was confirmed by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). This outcome was widely anticipated given the severity of the charges against him. Crimes involving penetrative sex with minors are viewed with extreme gravity by the authorities. There is also the length of the sentence: 3 years and 4 months. It is beyond the threshold where the ICA typically triggers a status review. The case had significant media coverage, especially since Mr Fang was a former public figure. No one expected him to be given a lesser charge or be allowed to keep his permanent residency. The formal revocation essentially marks the end of his life in Singapore. Even though he has lived there since 2002 or nearly 24 years, his legal ties to this country would soon be severed.

It is unclear when he will be sent back to China (he is originally from Shanghai). At 40 months, he wouldn’t typically be out yet if he had to serve the full term. However, the deportation order follows the standard legal process, which accounts for remission. The speculation is that, with remission, his earliest possible release date would be around August or September, 2027. In all likelihood, he is now classified as a foreign national serving a sentence. Like compatriot Han Feizi, the moment he is released from prison, he will not be allowed to return to his former home here. Instead, he will be handed directly to the authorities for immediate deportation to China, likely Shanghai. It’s essentially a ‘deferred’ exile—the paperwork is done, the status is gone, and the plane ticket is effectively waiting for him the moment the prison gates open. In Singapore, the repatriation road is very efficient.

Ian Fang himself said to the press in Mandarin before entering prison, “I’m here now to accept the punishment and legal consequences that I deserve.” Stripping his PR isn’t just a penalty, but the state’s final invoice for his conduct. For someone who spent over 20 years building a life here, being sent back to China would be a hard factory reset. People are still saying, “he should know better.” And he should. “Knowing better” is the legal and moral line that separates a mistake from a crime, a blooper from a First Attempt. Mr Fang’s case exposes how fragile celebrity capital is in Singapore. He wasn’t just another Mediacorp actor, he was branded as one of the “Eight Dukes of Caldecott Hill”, a marketing construct Mediacorp used to crown its young male stars as heirs to the throne of local television. It also allowed him to play up his bad boy image he acquired. One moment he’s a Mediacorp face, the next he’s a cautionary tale. Perhaps, it is the ultimate series finale: two decades of character development ended by a forced return to the pilot episode.