SINGAPORE, Aug 19 — Some firms which have previously worked with YouTuber and radio deejay Dee Kosh have distanced themselves from him after several police reports alleging sexual harassment of teenage boys were filed against him.
The reports were made after the allegations surfaced on social media over the weekend, with the accusers claiming that Dee Kosh, 32, whose real name is Darryl Ian Koshy, had asked them for nude pictures and sexual favours.
A Singapore spokesperson for the Chinese technology giant Huawei told TODAY yesterday that the firm does not have an ongoing partnership with Dee Kosh who had posted three videos promoting Huawei products on his YouTube channel between March and July.
“As the case is currently under police investigation, we are unable to comment further on the matter,” added the spokesperson.
A spokesperson for Singapore-based esports platform PVP Esports said that while the firm has engaged Dee Kosh for some esports activities in the past, they have no engagement nor long-term relationship with him and “do not tolerate harassment of any sort”.
Responding to TODAY’s queries, a Lenovo Singapore spokesperson said that the technology firm does not have any partnership with Dee Kosh. The posts featured on his Instagram page promoting the brand’s products were from an ad-hoc partnership in June and July, the spokesperson said.
“There are no existing plans (to work with Dee Kosh). The previous engagement was one-off and the partnership has ended,” the spokesperson added.
TODAY has also sought comment from other firms which Dee Kosh has worked with including Shopee, KFC, Prism+ and Premium Bandai but has not received responses. Popular YouTube channel Night Owl Cinematics where Dee Kosh hosts a number of shows, also did not respond to queries on the matter.
Radio station Power 98, where Dee Kosh has been working as a part-time DJ, released a statement on Monday, saying that he is on leave pending the investigation, and that the station “does not tolerate any form of harassment”.
‘I felt no one would believe me’
It is understood that a total of at least six police reports have been made against Dee Kosh.
TODAY had reported on Monday that at least four reports had been filed.
Three of them detailed incidents alleged to have occurred two years ago, involving two boys who were 17 and one who was 15 at the time. The other report was over an incident that allegedly occurred a fortnight ago, involving a 17-year-old.
One more report was filed later on Monday night, and a further report was made yesterday. A police spokesperson confirmed that these reports had been made and said that investigations are ongoing.
The police report filed yesterday was made by an alleged victim who was in contact with Dee Kosh via Snapchat in 2017 when he was 17. Dee Kosh had allegedly asked him for sexual favours in exchange for money.
When contacted by TODAY, and asked why he had decided to make the allegation now, the alleged victim said that he wanted to show “support for the other victims”.
“I did not speak up three years ago as he has a huge fan base and I felt that no one would believe me, and I thought that this was a one-off thing,” he said.
“I did not know that there were so many others that he approached with the same intentions. When I found out that many had come forward with their experiences, that encouraged me to speak up as well,” he added.
Dee Kosh took to Instagram on Saturday to deny all allegations, adding that he intended to take “necessary steps to clear this all up”. He had also engaged a lawyer who issued a cease and desist letter to one alleged victim, who took down posts containing the allegations.
But in a post of apology on Instagram on Monday, Dee Kosh said that he now “admit(s) that there is truth to some of the things which are being said now, and I am sorry to the people I have hurt in the process.”
He apologised for the “inappropriate” tone of an online conversation with a 15-year-old boy which was widely shared on social media, however he said he did not have sexual relations with him or any other minor.
Other influencers speak out
On Monday afternoon, singer-actor Benjamin Kheng took to Instagram where he commended the alleged victims for coming forward to share their stories.
“He’s a friend of mine, and I’m very disappointed. I do not condone his actions ... I pray that the truth will surface in full and that he’ll understand the gravity of his actions. I want him to do better,” he wrote. He has also unfollowed Dee Kosh on the social media platform.
Actress and DJ Jade Rasif reposted screenshots of alleged conversations between Dee Kosh and teenage boys on Instagram.
Raising doubts about Dee Kosh’s apology, she wrote: “I have never really been openly ‘involved’ in ‘influencer drama’. I don’t want to ‘cancel’ anyone. I saw a questionable statement full of holes and want to ask what I believe to be fair questions. He is free to reply. Please do not send hate to Dee Kosh just stay woke and ask for clarity. He is after all, innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” — TODAY
