A 26-year-old Malaysian man has been sentenced to five months’ jail in Singapore after he admitted to stealing S$17,300 (approx. RM55,171), from a durian stall where he worked.
What drew further attention to the case was that the man, identified as Tan An Senn, was reported by Singaporean media to be the younger brother of Malaysian singer-songwriter Diorlying, whose real name is Tan Jiaying.
Stole from company safe twice
According to Shin Min Daily News, Tan was working as an assistant at Ding Feng Durian Station when the incident happened between Feb 20 and 22 of this year.
During that period, he allegedly took money from the company’s safe on two occasions, with the total amount stolen coming up to S$17,300.
He later pleaded guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust and was sentenced to five months in jail.
Identified as Diorlying’s younger brother
A Shin Min reporter later visited the durian stall and nearby coffee shops, where they found out Tan had allegedly borrowed money from multiple people.
It was also rumoured that Tan is the biological younger brother of Diorlying.
This family link seemed to be confirmed by a social media post made by Diorlying two years ago, where she publicly spoke about her younger brother’s long-standing gambling addiction and the impact it had on the family.
In the post, Diorlying alleged her brother had been addicted to gambling since his teenage years and had accumulated debts that grew from a few thousand Ringgit to hundreds of thousands of Ringgit over the years.
She also said that her family had helped him repay his debts repeatedly, hoping that each time would be the last.
“We believed every single time that it would be the last time. We gave you chance after chance and helped you repay your gambling debts, but you abused our trust every time and refused to repent,” she wrote.
Allegedly scammed Diorlying’s fans
In the same post, Diorlying also alleged that her brother’s actions became worse over time.
Apart from gambling, she claimed that he had borrowed money from people around him using different excuses, such as claiming a younger sister needed money for school fees, a family member urgently needed medical fees, or someone needed money for surgery.
Diolying also claimed Tan had stolen gold chains belonging to their father and sister, and even took a keepsake left behind by their late mother, which was worth about RM200.
She also said her brother had cheated family members, relatives, his girlfriend, friends, as well as scamming people into investing in a “durian business”.
According to Diolying, the situation compelled her to speak publicly as Tan started targeting her fans too.
Family ties severed
In 2024, Diorlying said her family finally decided to cut ties with Tan.
She also urged the public not to believe any claims made by him in order to avoid being cheated.
Addressing him directly in the post, Diorlying wrote that the family had reached a point where they no longer wanted to be involved in his actions and that he would have to bear the consequences himself.
She also shared that her family had been living in fear for a long time, worrying that loan sharks would show up again or that debt collectors would disturb their family members.
She said they had also received debt collection messages from creditors, leaving the family mentally and physically exhausted.
To those who were cheated by him, I suggest that you make a police report and have him arrested. At least that way, we can live more peacefully.”
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