SINGAPORE: He donned a suit and pretended to be a bodyguard for a purported princess from the Selangor royal family when he turned up for a concert by South Korean boy band Enhypen at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in January 2024.
The man did so as he wanted his 17-year-old daughter to skip the queue when entering the event venue. He also wanted to keep an eye on the teenager, the court heard.
On Jan 20, the man, his daughter and her female friend, also 17, were allowed to enter the premises earlier to beat the crowd.
He was caught when he tried pulling the same stunt with his daughter the next day.
The 49-year-old Singaporean man pleaded guilty one count of cheating by personation and was fined $5,000 on July 29.
He cannot be named to protect his daughter’s identity as those below 18 are covered under the Children and Young Persons Act.
Shows for Enhypen’s Fate world tour at the Singapore Indoor Stadium were held on Jan 20 and 21, and the man’s daughter had earlier bought tickets for herself for both days.
On Jan 20, he called event organiser Anschutz Entertainment Group and lied that that a “princess from the Selangor royal family” would be attending both shows.
Deputy Public Prosecutor June Ngian told the court: “Explaining that he was the ‘princess’s bodyguard’, the accused informed the event organiser that he did not have tickets to the concert, and asked to be given access so that he could ensure the ‘princess’s safety’.
“In response to this, the event organiser asked the accused to turn up earlier... to facilitate his entry.”
The man then shared his plan with his daughter, said the prosecutor.
The father and daughter, together with the daughter’s friend, later turned up at the Singapore Indoor Stadium at around 6.20pm.
The man received a lanyard and two wristbands for special early entry on Jan 20 and 21.
The two girls were not given any special tickets or passes as they possessed valid tickets.
The trio were allowed into the premises and during the concert, the man stood at the entrance area of the Singapore Indoor Stadium, where he was able to observe his daughter in her seat.
The trio left the venue and returned home when the show ended that evening.
DPP Ngian said: “Following the concert, (an event manager) began to be suspicious of the accused and informed the security team and the Singapore Indoor Stadium that the accused may not be who he claimed to be.
“They then confirmed that (the man’s daughter) was not the princess of Selangor.”
The event organisers lodged a police report and when the man arrived at the concert venue with his daughter on Jan 21 for the second show, the pair were escorted to an office. Staff then sought police assistance.
Several criminal cases linked to other concerts held in Singapore have made the headlines in recent months.
In May, Cameroon national Karl Phillippe Njiomo Tengueu, 23, was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to offences including cheating and forgery.
He had flown to Singapore to watch singer Bruno Mars perform in April, but did not have a ticket for the show at the National Stadium. He then forged a staff pass to enter the premises.
In March, Chinese national Li Xiaowei, 45, was jailed for six weeks after sneaking three people into American pop star Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert at the National Stadium earlier that month.
Li, who pushed three people through a turnstile, pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal trespass. - The Straits Times/ANN
