Actress Fann Wong hit the headlines recently when a mystery fan made a $1-million bequest to her, but she is not the only celebrity in town attracting gifts from admirers.
The reigning queen of Caldecott Hill was named the beneficiary in a will drawn up three years ago for a 41-year-old marketing executive named Ms S. If she dies, all her assets, possibly worth more than $1 million, will reportedly go to Wong.
Capital 95.8FM deejay Bukoh Mary also had a fan with another bequest of sorts. She recalls a 30something listener who wanted to nominate her as a beneficiary of her Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings. The 39-year-old rejected the offer because she felt "weird" accepting such a valuable gift from someone she hardly knew.
Receiving gifts ranging from cash to a bouquet of rambutans are all in a day's work for a celebrity these days.
Comedian Kumar and popular getai singer Wang Lei have received garlands made up of cash amounting to $2,000. Fans have also given deejays Huang Wenhong, Dennis Chew and Jean Danker cash amounting to several hundred dollars.
While Kumar, 44, has no qualms about spending the $2,000 he recently received from a fan at his stand-up show at The Still Bar in Dempsey, other celebrities adopt a no-cash or nothing-too-expensive policy.
Comedian Hossan Leong, 43, says: "I can't accept branded goods or take something so expensive. Why would I want to accept something I don't need from someone?"
Companies such as Warner Music Singapore enforce a no-cash policy on artists when it comes to accepting gifts from fans. The gifts cannot be too expensive either - in some cases, they may be rejected or donated to charity. Deejays at SPH UnionWorks are allowed to accept simple gifts such as food and flowers. Anything more is reviewed by the management on a case-by-case basis.
As to whether Wong will be accepting the bequest, her camp had no comments.
But there are gifts that you cannot donate to charity.
Actor Adrian Pang received a pair of shark tooth cufflinks and a shark-shaped staple remover on the opening night of his theatre company Pangdemonium!'s current production Swimming With Sharks. The teeth of the shark in the staple remover are stained with what looks like blood.
"It is either a good luck charm or a warning from an ex-lover. I will send it to a doctor to check if it is blood," he says with a laugh.
Some fans can be very creative with gifts. Wang Lei was performing at the Getai Star Awards last Tuesday when a male fan passed him durians. He also received a bouquet of rambutans.
"It was very weird because I was just holding the fruits while singing," he says.
The host of the Mandarin version of children's TV show Mat Yoyo, Koh Yah Hwee, 25, recently received two terrapins and a working mobile phone, complete with the Mat Yoyo ringtone. When it rang, it was the mother of the gift-giver - a young fan - asking the host to speak to her daughter.
Koh says: "It's very cute and they invited me to their house. But I'm really busy filming so I'll ask a friend to return the phone to them."
For her 38th birthday, Love 97.2 FM deejay Violet Tan Fenying received a handmade quilt from a listener in her 40s, who had taken a year to painstakingly sew the patchwork. "I was very touched by her effort. I put the queen-sized quilt in my cupboard and take it out to admire it once in a while," says the 42-year-old.
Actor Dwayne Tan may be 35, but he has a room "that looks like it belongs to a 16-year-old girl", thanks to his supporters who shower the self-confessed Disney fan with soft toys and paraphernalia.
Tan, who is starring in W!ld Rice's upcoming Hansel & Gretel musical, also receives numerous marriage proposals from female fans.
But not all fan proposals are as innocent.
Actor Zheng Geping, 48, was shocked by an e-mail last year containing naked pictures of a 20-something female fan. It read: "I admire your physique and you are my idol. I want to make love to you."
Zheng is married to actress Hong Huifang and they have two children aged 12 and 16. He admits with a chuckle: "She does have a good body. But while fans have a right to offer, I also have a right to reject.
"I replied and told her she is still young and will find a better man. I am a married man."
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