Mediacorp Singapore dropped 987FM radio host DJ Sonia Chew from hosting its annual countdown show for allegedly breaching Covid-19 safety measures at a birthday party for actor Jeffrey Xu.
29-year-old Chew was to co-host Let’s Celebrate 2021 with DJ Joakim Gomez, but was replaced by DJ Jean Danker.
In a statement, Mediacorp said: “We take this matter seriously, and constantly brief and remind our artistes to adhere to safe management guidelines at all times. We will also cooperate fully with the authorities on their investigations.”
Chew was among many artists who got together for Xu’s 32nd birthday party. Among the 13 celebrities who featured in a picture uploaded by Xu on his Instagram page in October, were actors Terence Cao, Shane Pow, Jeremy Chan and actress Julie Tan, without wearing face masks and social distancing.
During October, Covid-19 norms allowed only five visitors to a household at a time.
All the artists including Chew have since apologised on their personal social media accounts.
Chew said: “Firstly, I want to sincerely apologise for my actions. Upon seeing that there were more than five people present, I should have removed myself from that situation, and I didn’t. I’m fully responsible for that. This is by no means a way to make excuses for what happened.”
“I was invited to have drinks with what I understood to be a small group of people and was not aware it was a birthday celebration,” she added.
“It's not in my nature to cause trouble or partake in any activities that would put people at risk. It was a severe lapse of judgment on my part in this case and from the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry.”
Subscribe to the radioinfo podcast on these platforms: Acast, Apple iTunes Podcasts, Podtail, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, or wherever you get your podcasts.