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Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) co-founder Ryan Tan has issued an apology to the company's talents, "Michelle and Aylna", for messages he claimed he sent to Sylvia Chan, who's also a co-founder of the company.
These whatsapp messages included Tan's remarks on wanting to "torture" and "sue" the talents. The screenshots of these messages were first shared on socio-political page Wake Up, Singapore.
"I am sorry"
Taking to Instagram to respond to the screenshots, Tan said he sent the messages to Chan, who was also his ex-wife, about four to six years ago.
During that time, he said he had been "led to believe that a few of the talents were planning to leave NOC and set up a competing channel".
"I was angry and frustrated. We had put a lot of effort into building NOC and I felt betrayed," he said.
He then apologised for the remarks.
"But I realised that I was wrong and that I had misunderstood the talents. I am sorry."
Screenshots sent by someone claiming to be close to both Tan and Chan
In the Facebook post that shared the screenshots Tan was referring to, Wake Up, Singapore said that the person who sent the screenshots claimed to be "someone close to both Sylvia and Ryan".
The person also claimed that his or her identity had to be kept secret "as [they] are all afraid of lawsuits and harassment", adding that "the threats are real".
The sender of the screenshots further expressed the opinion that it is not fair of Tan to "pretend he has nothing to do with the state of affairs at NOC".
You can see the screenshots in question here:
Saying that while he doesn't know who else has these messages, or their intentions in leaking them, the act "appears to have been deliberately carried out to influence the ongoing legal dispute between Sylvia and [him]", he said.
He further claimed that since "earlier this year", he had not been involved in the "day-to-day operations" of the company, adding that although he had tried to resign as director, he was prevented from doing so by "the majority shareholder of the company".
According to NOC's website, Tan is NOC's Chief Operating Officer, while Chan is the firm's Chief Executive Officer.
Chan is the majority share-holder of NOC, according to her statement earlier this week (Oct. 22).
You can read his full statement here:
Authorities looking into allegations by NOC employees
In early October, a slew of allegations against Chan's workplace practices had surfaced on social media, which accused her of fostering a toxic work environment.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) subsequently released a joint statement on Oct. 21 that said the latter is currently in touch with NOC to look into the matter.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that a report has been lodged over the matter.
In response to queries on the recent criminal allegations by former and current NOC employees in a blog, the police confirmed that a report has been lodged and they are looking into the matter.
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Top image adapted via Ryan Tan/Instagram