Mediacorp terminates actor Shane Pow’s contract after drink-driving charge

SINGAPORE — National media network Mediacorp has terminated its contract with Singaporean actor Shane Pow after he was charged with drink driving last week.

In a statement on Monday (April 26), Mediacorp — which owns TODAY — said that it was unaware of the 30-year-old’s drink-driving charge before it was reported in the media last Thursday, when he was charged.

Pow did not alert his artiste management team to the incident, which happened in September last year, it said.

“We do not condone any behaviour that runs afoul of the law. We constantly remind our artistes that their fans and members of the public look to them as role models, and they are expected to behave as such.”

Based on the charge sheet, Pow is accused of driving a motorvan along Java Road towards Nicoll Highway at about 11.20pm on Sept 17 last year, when he had at least 49mg of alcohol in 100ml of his breath, exceeding the 35mg limit.

Mediacorp said its decision to part ways with the actor also took into account an incident last year where the actor breached safe-distancing rules to combat Covid-19. 

In October last year, Pow attended a birthday party with 12 other people — including three other Mediacorp artistes — during the second phase of Singapore’s reopening after a partial lockdown to contain the virus. At that time, only up to five visitors were allowed at residences.

On top of receiving a fine, Pow had faced internal disciplinary action.

Mediacorp said that Pow would complete outstanding work until May 4 because of “ongoing contractual commitments”, including for two drama productions.

Pow was previously convicted of drink driving in July 2014. 

If found guilty again, he would face a driving ban of at least five years. He could also be jailed for up to two years, and fined between S$5,000 and S$20,000.

TODAY has asked Pow for comment. 

Talent-scouted by a modelling agency, Pow was a Manhunt Singapore pageant finalist in 2011 and later made his foray into television dramas.

He was in 2014 dubbed one of the “eight dukes of Caldecott Hill” alongside popular actors Romeo Tan, Desmond Tan, Zhang Zhenhuan, Ian Fang, Jeffrey Xu, Xu Bin and the late Aloysius Pang.