SINGAPORE: A second woman has come forward with allegations about popular local film-maker Jack Neo, claiming that she was sexually harassed by him about five years ago.
This comes days after freelance model Wendy Chong, 22, told the Chinese language press that she had a two-year affair with Mr Neo - allegations that sparked a storm of reactions online, and had a few speculating about whether it was real or an elaborate publicity stunt.
Even Foreign Minister George Yeo was drawn into the buzz, blogging on Sunday to say that the Cultural Medallion recipient had called him the previous night to confess his "infidelity".
In the latest apparent revelations, Ms Foyce Le Xuan, 25, told Lianhe Wanbao on Monday that Mr Neo had wooed her aggressively and even allegedly booked a room at a hotel so they could "get to know each other better", but she did not turn up.
Ms Le told the paper she was 20 when she signed up as an artiste with Mr Neo's entertainment group in 2004. The film-maker had initially offered to give her a lift home; she lived in Tampines, he in Pasir Ris.
But soon after, she claimed, he hit on her, promising to groom her into "Fann Wong No 2". "I was just a small girl ... When he held my hand tight, I didn't even dare to resist," she told Wanbao.
He would also allegedly send her up to 30 SMSes a day and ring her up late in the night, the evening daily reported. Ms Le, whose boyfriend broke up with her because of the frequent rides she hitched with the director, said she was afraid to fall out with Mr Neo as her career was vital to her.
Ms Le said she was spurred to go public after reading about Ms Chong's story and wanted to prevent further such incidents.
Wanbao was the first to report on Saturday about the alleged affair, after Ms Chong had showed up at Mr Neo's house demanding to see his wife. The three then held a four-hour meeting at Changi Airport's Crowne Plaza Hotel, which Ms Chong informed the press about. Mr Neo's pastor and manager, as well as Ms Chong's father and sister, were also present.
The model, who claimed to Shin Min Daily News that she had sex with Mr Neo in his car a month after meeting him at a 2008 audition for "Money No Enough 2", on Monday was reported as saying she regretted alerting a reporter.
"I was a little rash and wondered if I had caused harm to innocent children. But the next day, after reading the reports, my guilt subsided. Because Jack Neo lied. He told me that besides me and his wife, there weren't any other women," she reportedly told Shin Min.
Mr Neo's wife, Madam Irene Kng, 46, was reported as saying she knew about her husband's trysts, but had chosen to "close one eye" as she knew he still loved his family.
She said they and their four children had moved out of their Pasir Ris home to stay elsewhere temporarily.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, Mr Neo's manager Tang Wing Fai said the director would come clean on his two-year affair with the model after he had settled the matter with the affected parties and "made peace" with his wife and children.
- TODAY/sc
This comes days after freelance model Wendy Chong, 22, told the Chinese language press that she had a two-year affair with Mr Neo - allegations that sparked a storm of reactions online, and had a few speculating about whether it was real or an elaborate publicity stunt.
Even Foreign Minister George Yeo was drawn into the buzz, blogging on Sunday to say that the Cultural Medallion recipient had called him the previous night to confess his "infidelity".
In the latest apparent revelations, Ms Foyce Le Xuan, 25, told Lianhe Wanbao on Monday that Mr Neo had wooed her aggressively and even allegedly booked a room at a hotel so they could "get to know each other better", but she did not turn up.
Ms Le told the paper she was 20 when she signed up as an artiste with Mr Neo's entertainment group in 2004. The film-maker had initially offered to give her a lift home; she lived in Tampines, he in Pasir Ris.
But soon after, she claimed, he hit on her, promising to groom her into "Fann Wong No 2". "I was just a small girl ... When he held my hand tight, I didn't even dare to resist," she told Wanbao.
He would also allegedly send her up to 30 SMSes a day and ring her up late in the night, the evening daily reported. Ms Le, whose boyfriend broke up with her because of the frequent rides she hitched with the director, said she was afraid to fall out with Mr Neo as her career was vital to her.
Ms Le said she was spurred to go public after reading about Ms Chong's story and wanted to prevent further such incidents.
Wanbao was the first to report on Saturday about the alleged affair, after Ms Chong had showed up at Mr Neo's house demanding to see his wife. The three then held a four-hour meeting at Changi Airport's Crowne Plaza Hotel, which Ms Chong informed the press about. Mr Neo's pastor and manager, as well as Ms Chong's father and sister, were also present.
The model, who claimed to Shin Min Daily News that she had sex with Mr Neo in his car a month after meeting him at a 2008 audition for "Money No Enough 2", on Monday was reported as saying she regretted alerting a reporter.
"I was a little rash and wondered if I had caused harm to innocent children. But the next day, after reading the reports, my guilt subsided. Because Jack Neo lied. He told me that besides me and his wife, there weren't any other women," she reportedly told Shin Min.
Mr Neo's wife, Madam Irene Kng, 46, was reported as saying she knew about her husband's trysts, but had chosen to "close one eye" as she knew he still loved his family.
She said they and their four children had moved out of their Pasir Ris home to stay elsewhere temporarily.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, Mr Neo's manager Tang Wing Fai said the director would come clean on his two-year affair with the model after he had settled the matter with the affected parties and "made peace" with his wife and children.
- TODAY/sc
