SINGAPORE — In our review of the year, we rounded up a list of the biggest winners and losers for 2022. Part 1—The winners here.
And now for the losers:
Dee Kosh
The two-year scandal involving Dee Kosh resulted in a 32-week jail sentence for the YouTuber in August over several sexual offences, which included offering cash for sexual services to a male under 18.
He posted on Instagram that he’s “extremely sorry” for what he’s done, “despite what the headlines might suggest.”
“And now it’s time to pay the price.”
Titus Low
Low, meanwhile, was sentenced to three weeks in jail for breaching a police order to access his OnlyFans account. He was fined another S$3,000 for transmitting obscene materials via the platform.
In a video, Low said that his stint in prison “wasn’t the best experience,” adding that he is glad for it to be over and is ready to move on from this chapter of his life.
Temasek
One major sour note in Temasek’s year was the fall of Crypto exchange company FTX, which filed for bankruptcy early in November.
FTX was once the third biggest cryptocurrency exchange around the globe and had been worth nearly S$44 billion just last January.
Shortly afterwards, Temasek Holdings issued a statement on Thursday (Nov 17) saying it will be writing down its investment in FTX worth US$275 million (S$377 million) regardless of the outcome of the firm’s bankruptcy protection filing.
Cryptocurrency
Once upon a time, it looked like Singapore would become a global centre for cryptocurrency. However, a trio of events happened in 2022 that put this into question.
First was the collapse of Terra Luna, which caused TerraUSD to fall as well.
Next, Three Arrows, a local crypto hedge fund, filed for bankruptcy, which affected crypto exchange Voyager Digital and crypto lender Hodlnaut.
The most recent was the fall of FTX (see number 3). Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, now faces charges in the US of “one of the biggest financial frauds in US history”.
Singapore Swimmers
We’re not sure exactly who the losers are here, although some say it’s Singapore swim stars Joseph Schooling, Amanda Lim, and Teong Tzen Wei.
The three national athletes admitted to having consumed controlled drugs overseas. As a result, SportSG’s support was suspended for one month, and all three were given letters of warning.
However, the sentiment from many netizens has been to support the three athletes and give them another chance, and SportSG has been criticized for perceived unnecessary harshness. /TISG