Terence Cao, Jeffrey Xu, Shane Pow apologise for breaking Covid-19 rules at birthday celebration

Birthdays are supposed to be joyous occasions where family and friends gather for celebration, but those were all pre-Covid days.

Under phase 2 regulations, social gatherings should be limited to five people, birthday celebrations included, to keep everyone safe during the pandemic – and even celebrities are not exempted from the rules.

Just today (Dec 23), local celebrities Terence Cao, Jeffrey Xu and Shane Pow were found to have flouted social distancing measures at a birthday party in October, following an expose by a Shin Min Daily News reader.

According to the reader, Jeffrey posted an Instagram story on Oct 3 and while the photo did not have a date, there was evidence to prove that it had been taken two months ago, the Chinese daily reported.

"One of the artistes in the photo, Terence, had sent a congratulatory message to wish Jeffrey a happy birthday and even posted a photo of them together," the reader said. "I kept the link but it expired as the post and photo had already been removed."

The 53-year-old actor also sent a message on Oct 4 to wish Shane a happy birthday.

Both Terence and Shane could be seen wearing the same clothes as in the photo posted by Jeffrey the day before, indicating that they were taken on the same occasion.

In response to AsiaOne's queries, Mediacorp confirmed that the incident took place in October. 

They spoke to the three artistes involved, and also found that a fourth one, Sonia Chew, was also present at the celebration.

"They deeply regret their actions. They would like to apologise for the mistake and assure everyone that this will not happen again," Mediacorp said.

"We take this matter seriously. Safety is a priority. We constantly brief and remind our artists to adhere to safe management guidelines, both in their professional and personal capacities."

Just yesterday (Dec 22), a reader also tipped off The New Paper regarding Ah Boys To Men actor Maxi Lim's wedding ceremony, which is under investigation for breaching Covid-19 rules.

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trining@asiaone.com