View source for SGInstababes patreon incident (2018)

Qualms about SgInstaBabes surfaced when they launched a Patreon campaign, which enabled people to donate to their page in exchange for special access to photographs, photoshoots and parties with the girls.


SgInstaBabes started as an Instagram account, with 42,000 followers before its eventual deactivation.<ref>Chia, Rachel Genevieve. “The Malaysian founder of SGInstaBabes is stepping down following a controversial Patreon campaign involving teenage girls”. ''Business Insider.'' August 29, 2018. Accessed on 7 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.sg/the-malaysian-founder-of-sginstababes-is-stepping-down-following-a-controversial-patreon-campaign-involving-teenage-girls/ </ref> The account’s first post was in April 2015. They have since expanded to Facebook, and even have their own website ([http://sginstababes.com/ official website]). Their content mainly focuses on girls, nightlife and lifestyle events. They have promoted events, notably Ultra Music Festival 2018 and Eden Music Festival 2017.<ref>Ng, Christine.  “Top 30+ Hottest Babes Who Will Party At Ultra Singapore 2018”. ''SgInstaBabes.'' June 9,    2018. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from:

http://sginstababes.com/ultra-singapore-2018-babes </ref> The founder of SgInstaBabes is Lai Wee Kiat, a Malaysian ex-body builder. He was also the winner of Mr Kuala Lumpur 2013.<ref>TheMustShareNewsTeam.  “7 Facts About Lai Wee Kiat That Aren’t About SGInstaBabes”. ''MustShareNews.'' August 30, 2018. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from:

https://mustsharenews.com/lai-wee-kiat/ </ref>

==The controversy==
On 20 August 2018, SgInstaBabes launched their Patreon campaign. Patreon is a platform where users can make donations to support independent content creators, usually those in the creative and media industry. The SgInstaBabes Patreon campaign allowed users to make monthly payments in exchange for exclusive content and perks. These perks ranged from exclusive photographs of the girls to yacht party invitations.


The types of perks users received depended on the amount they paid to subscribe, which ranged from USD $3 to $3,750 (about SGD $4 to $5000) per month. Users are grouped and ranked in tiers based on the amount donated.

The types of payments available on SgInstaBabes’ Patreon (in SGD) and their corresponding perks are as such:<ref>TheMustShareNewsTeam.  “SgInstaBabes Starts Donation Page For Fans, Receives Backlash From Netizens”. ''MustShareNews.'' August 27, 2018. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from:

https://mustsharenews.com/sginstababes-donation/ </ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Patron Tier'''
|'''Amount Donated / month''' '''(SGD)'''
|'''Perks'''
|-
|Donor
|$4
|No perks
|-
|Fan
|$10
|Access to exclusive and complete photoshoot albums
|-
|Avid Fan
|$30
|Access to personal vlogs
|-
|Friend
|$100
|Exclusive access to 1 photoshoot as photographer or spectator
|-
|Bestfriend
|$300
|Unlimited access to photoshoots as photographer or spectator
|-
|Baller
|$1,000
|Fully paid private hangout with SgInstaBabes for donor & friends, only 5 slots available
|-
|Party King
|$5,000
|Yacht party with SgInstaBabes for 1 patron
|}
The Patreon campaign quickly caught the attention of the mainstream media, such as The Straits Times and Channel News Asia, as well as netizens and social media influencers. The backlash for Netizens commented on the fact that many of the girls in the photographs were minors, potentially exposing the girls to online sexual harassment and exploitation.


SgInstaBabes received much backlash from netizens, as founder Lai Wee Kiat had also been involved in cases of alleged sexual harassment and mistreatment of minors under him before.<ref>Tay, Vivienne. “SgInstaBabes to undergo “major revamp” following controversy”. ''MarketingInteractive.'' July 24, 2017. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.marketing-interactive.com/sginstababes-to-undergo-major-revamp-following-controversy/ </ref>

==Responses==

===Lai Wee Kiat===
Following the online criticism, Lai Wee Kiat addressed the issues raised by netizens via Instagram on 26 August 2018. He stated that the ages of the girls in SgInstaBabes ranged from 14 to 24 years old. However, he claimed that the membership programme only allowed girls aged 16 and above to partake in photoshoots, and only those of legal age would join the parties held.<ref>Ng, Charmaine.  “Man under fire after offering photos, access to teenage girls known as SgInstaBabes for monthly payments”. ''The Straits Times.'' August 29, 2018. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/man-under-fire-for-membership-offering-photos-access-to-teenage-girls-for-monthly-payments </ref> He also added that the safety of the girls is the biggest priority for SgInstaBabes when carrying out the Patreon activities.


In light of the incident and backlash, SgInstaBabes released a statement on their Instagram. The statement explained that the SgInstaBabes platform would be revamped to solely focus on ‘babes, beauty, above-18 events, nightlife and relevant issues and brands’. This new policy ensures that the girls involved with SgInstaBabes activities are above 18 years of age.<ref>Tay, Vivienne. “SgInstaBabes to undergo “major revamp” following controversy”. ''MarketingInteractive.'' July 24, 2017. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.marketing-interactive.com/sginstababes-to-undergo-major-revamp-following-controversy/ </ref>

===Social media influencers===
Popular Singaporean social media personalities, such as Wendy Cheng (Xiaxue) and Darryl Koshy (DeeKosh) also commented on the incident. Xiaxue asserted that despite Lai Wee Kiat’s earlier claims of revamping SgInstaBabes’ policy, there was still evidence that a minor was still working under him. Xiaxue also stated that since the incident occurred, the minor’s pictures have been deleted ‘sneakily’ from the SgInstaBabes Instagram account.<ref>How, Mandy. “Xiaxue calls out SgInstaBabes founder for exploiting teenage girls, innocent geoduck involved”. ''Mothership.'' August 30, 2018. Accessed on 7 January 2019. Retrieved from:

https://mothership.sg/2018/08/lai-wee-kiat-xiaxue-sginstababes/ </ref> The legitimacy of the number of patrons of the Patreon campaign was also questioned when DeeKosh revealed screenshots of Lai Wee Kiat requesting the talents in SgInstaBabes to pose as patrons after the launch.<ref>TheMustShareNewsTeam.  “SgInstaBabes Founder Allegedly Caught ‘Flirting’ With 15-Year-Old Over Text”. ''MustShareNews.'' August 28, 2018. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://mustsharenews.com/sginstababes-founder/</ref>


Social media influencer Preeti Nair (Preetipls) also made a parody video of the whole incident, titled ‘Preetipls’s Patreon Page! Sg Instant Regret’. The video was uploaded on Youtube on 22 September 2018 and mirrored the introduction video that SgInstaBabes posted regarding the Patreon scheme. The video has been viewed 2,598 times as of 14 February 2019.<ref>Accessed on 14 February 2019. Retrieved from Preetipls’s Youtube channel. To watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJt5TnJ51fs </ref>

==Conclusion to Patreon incident==
On 29 August 2018, Lai Wee Kiat stated that he would no longer be managing SgInstaBabes, and would be on hiatus from social media. His personal Instagram, as well as the SgInstaBabes Instagram, Patreon and Facebook pages has since been deleted. The SgInstaBabes website can still be accessed. Currently, SgInstaBabes is on hiatus. Any news of a possible relaunch or a definite launch date are not available.<ref>Tay, Vivienne.  “SgInstaBabes to undergo “major revamp” following controversy”. ''MarketingInteractive.'' July 24, 2017. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.marketing-interactive.com/sginstababes-takes-damage-control-steps-mulls-permanent-shutdown/ </ref>

==SgJcBabes==
Following the SgInstaBabes incident, an Instagram account, SingaporeJuniorCollegeBabes, (ig: @sgjcbabes) garnered attention for posting photographs of female students from Singapore’s junior colleges. Launched on 25 October 2018, the content posted by SgJcBabes is similar to that of SGInstaBabes as they both feature young Singaporean girls. Photographs of girls in their junior college uniforms are submitted by anonymous users. The identity of SgJcBabes’ administrator is unknown.


The social media account also holds contests, where the girl with the most liked post would be crowned as “Queen”. The “Queen” would then be featured on the account’s Instagram Story, where followers of the account are able to give a rating. It is also stated in the profile description that the account would block any users who made “unruly comments”. The account is currently private, and users have to direct message the account in order to gain verification for access.


As of 4 January 2019, the account currently has 2000 followers and 13 posts. The latest post is dated 8 November 2018. It should also be noted that the account’s profile photograph was taken from one of the articles the Singapore-based alternative news site, MustShareNews, without official permission.<ref>TheMustShareNewsTeam.  “SgJCbabes Instagram Page Is Much More Disturbing Than SgInstababes”. ''MustShareNews.'' November 5, 2018. Accessed on 4 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://mustsharenews.com/sgjcbabes-instagram/ </ref> Netizens have taken action and emailed the respective junior colleges of the girls involved.
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[[Category:Newsworthy Incidents]]