SINGAPORE — Authorities in Singapore have charged two men with cheating for sneaking three people into a Taylor Swift concert without tickets.
Yang Chenguang allegedly distracted security staff by talking to them while Li Xiao Wei held onto a turnstile to let the trio in, authorities said.
The incident happened last Monday, the third of Swift’s six sold-out shows in the South East Asian city-state.
Tickets to the show are highly coveted as Singapore is the only stop of Swift’s Eras Tour in the region.
The dates had sold out months before and desperate fans from as far as China turn to resellers to secure their seats. Before Singapore, Swift played in Japan and Australia.
Singapore has some of the strictest laws in the world and anyone convicted of cheating can be jailed for up to three years.
A third man who was arrested with Yang and Li is under investigation and has yet to be charged, Singapore police said in a statement on Tuesday.
One of the men that the group snuck into the show is Chinese influencer Yang Junhao, who claims he unknowingly got fake tickets.
“This is me after being told I bought fake tickets, and was brought out [of the concert] to be interrogated by the police… I pleaded with the police to let me stay outside the venue so that I can hear Taylor’s voice,” Yang said in a video on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, which also featured him in a pastel purple outfit, looking dejected.
“I spent 12,000 yuan (£1,300; $1,700) on the ticket and didn’t know it was fake even after I entered the concert. I only realised it after officers brought us out… I am also a victim, I am stuck in Singapore and assisting in the investigation. It’s a difficult situation,” he wrote in a comment posted on Wednesday night.
Security personnel at the Singapore Sports Hub, where Swift’s concerts were held, said they had detained several people who tried to trespass into the concert venue on Monday.
Concert organisers said they would work closely with the police “to ensure the safety and security of the public”.
Singapore struck a deal with Swift’s concert promoters to host the show exclusively for South East Asia. The agreement is reportedly worth millions of dollars, according to reports. This has sowed tension among its neighbours, including Thailand and the Philippines.
Swift has three more shows in Singapore before she wraps up her tour in the region. — BBC