Concert ticket scamming apparently isn’t just an American pastime. So get this: Variety reports out in Singapore, where Taylor Swift has been selling out per usual, three men have been locked up and arrested, and two of them have been formally charged for “sneaking people into the pop diva’s performances. Sounds like the ol’ backdoor action was in full effect for the Eras Tour.
BBC reported some details on the alleged culprits … “A man named Yang Chenguang reportedly distracted security by chatting them up while Li Xiao Wei held a turnstile to let the three people into Singapore Sports Hub,” from BBC. Both men were charged with cheating. Sounds like something else, but in Singapore I wouldn’t downplay that. A third man was arrested in connection with the incident and was not charged. The police in Singapore posted a statement and it’s safe to say they are taking matters seriously. They claimed that four fans, two men and two women, are under investigation for criminal trespass at Taylor Swift’s Singapore Eras Tour.
Now here’s why cheating out there matters … Singapore has strict rules about cheating. This can lead to a three-year prison sentence, a fine or in fact both. Sheesh. Now here’s something, one of the so-called fans who benefited from the cheating was ID’d as Yang Junhao, a Chinese influencer, who supposedly knew he received counterfeit tickets. Well, alright, sir.
“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,” he posted on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. Um, fun fact, TikTok is also owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. Back to ticket-gate … “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.”
Anyway, beyond the cheating situation, Swift is on a major run of six shows in Singapore. She made a deal to ensure her Eras Tour exclusively came to the city-state of Singapore and not any other destination in the Association of South East Asian Nations, which is made up of 10 countries. There is never a dull moment on the Eras Tour.
