Nathan Hartono claims woman in Edmund Chen case tried to scam him

SINGAPORE — Homegrown singer Nathan Hartono is the latest to speak up against the alleged scammer embroiled in a legal tussle with Edmund Chen. 

Hartono claimed the woman failed to pay the S$3,000 owed to him for  producing and performing at a Youth Sensation concert back in 2014. The concert was organised by Phios Entertainment, an artiste and event management company that the woman had set up together with Mr Raymond Santoso. 

According to the singer, she had promised to pay him S$2,000 for the performance. She then asked him to be the concert producer, to which Hartono agreed. For producing the show, Hartono said, she promised to pay him an additional S$1,000, which comprised of S$500 for producer fees, and S$500 for general expenses incurred from logistics.

Hartono, who got to know her through “a mutual connection”, said she failed to make payment after the event. 

“Every week after that, I would badger her. I would say to her: ‘Hey here’s my bank account number. If you get the time, do transfer over,” said Hartono, who was speaking at a press conference organised by Chen and his lawyer Samuel Seow on Tuesday (May 30). 

Hartono, however, did not lodge a police report. “I’m generally not a confrontational person. I cut ties and didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to tussle with someone like that.” 

So why bring it up now? Hartono said when he first heard of Chen’s situation through the latter’s Facebook post on April 10, “it sounded extremely familiar”.

“It sounded very reminiscent of my experiences so I reached out to Edmund,” he said. 

“Once I heard that she had filed a suit against Edmund for defamation, I had to say something.” 

Hartono eventually got paid early last year by the woman’s former partner, Mr Santoso, a general manager at an investment holding company that manages the wholesale and retail distribution of footwear and 
lifestyle products. 

Mr Santoso’s partnership with the woman also ended after he claimed that she had mismanaged funds. He also lodged a police report against her in 2015. Chen filed a suit against the woman on May 8.

On May 17, the woman also filed her own lawsuit against Chen for defamation. She had announced on Weibo that “I have already instructed my lawyer to take legal action against Chen over his allegations and his claims”. 

Giving a media update on his case on Tuesday, Chen said: “I’m still digesting what’s the procedure and what’s going on. He (Samuel) has provided me with guidance and emotional support.” 

Chen has claimed that he gave her money amounting to some S$11,000 when he sensed that she had financial difficulties. In return, the woman allegedly began to work unofficially for him to pay off the debt, said Chen. 

He claimed that she began to represent him in public relations matters relating to his Little Red Dot book. Eventually, she supposedly took over his Facebook account, and began to agree to him appearing at events without his prior consent.

The woman has denied Chen’s claims.