Titus Low singapore onlyfans
Sex

Singapore’s Biggest OnlyFans Star Is Facing Jail Time. What Will Happen to the Hidden Scene?

Titus Low’s case is now being viewed with huge public interest, and will be a litmus test for possible repercussions OnlyFans creators may face in Singapore.

In just six months, soft-spoken 22-year-old Titus Low transformed into Singapore’s most recognizable adult content creator on OnlyFans, the subscription-based social media platform synonymous with adult content

The average creator on OnlyFans typically sees modest numbers of subscribers, ranging from anywhere between 10 and 50 people. But Low’s following was anything but average. He commanded an impressive audience of at least 3,000 paid subscribers (which he describes as mostly men) willing to pay for his self-produced adult material, some fully nude. That is, before OnlyFans suspended his page earlier this month while coming under official investigation by the Singapore authorities for his nude pictures and videos. 

Advertisement

“I’ve become a victim of my own fame,” Low said, speaking on a private video call from his home with VICE and his manager on Jan. 9. “All I wanted was to make my fans happy.” 

Low represents a budding group of young and wealthy Singaporeans who have found massive success on OnlyFans. In Singapore, where porn production and distribution is technically prohibited, sex workers who have been thriving in the legal gray area are now forced to reckon with a potential clampdown on their livelihoods. His case is now being viewed with huge public interest, and will be a litmus test for possible repercussions OnlyFans creators may now face in the conservative country. 

“Titus is at the forefront,” Low’s manager told VICE. “This is a landmark case that will set a precedent [for the OnlyFans scene] in Singapore. It’s make or break.”

While it is highly taboo and technically illegal in Singapore to create and distribute erotic material, it hasn’t stopped people in the conservative city-state from doing so. VICE reached out to several OnlyFans adult content creators in Singapore, all of whom expressed fears and concerns about their presence on the platform following Low’s brush with the law. “We know the risks that come with our work,” said one creator, who wished to be identified only by her first name Michelle because of “possible heightened surveillance” by authorities on the site. 

Advertisement

“Subscribers could turn on us—it’s our worst fear. And the most frightening and unsettling thing about what happened to Titus Low is that he does not know who was behind the police report—and why—and he probably will never be able to find out.” 

“The most frightening and unsettling thing about what happened to Titus Low is that he does not know who was behind the police report—and why—and he probably will never be able to find out.”

Low’s access to his OnlyFans account was revoked and his page frozen after a police report was filed against him in September for posting “obscene photographs and videos” of his private parts. Four months on, Low still doesn’t know who filed the complaint against him and why. 

“It isn’t morally right too for people to share my content without my consent,” Low said, explaining that his OnlyFans content had been spreading on mainstream social media.

According to a creator who goes by the handle Belldandy, some of them are already feeling the heat from Low’s case. She told VICE about a recent episode where she was blackmailed by someone who threatened to report her OnlyFans content to the authorities when she did not accede to their personal requests. “If more cases like this occur, the [number] of sex workers on OnlyFans being harassed will gradually increase,” she said.

In a statement, Project X, a non-profit organization that provides support to sex workers, voiced their concerns about how criminalizing the consensual transmission of sexual content could have a ripple effect across Singapore’s sex industry and society.

Advertisement

Lola Woo, another well-known OnlyFans content creator, shares similar sentiments. Like many creators, she feels a sense of empowerment and liberation from posting her intimate content online, but is also plagued by the stress that comes from being publicly associated with OnlyFans in a country where the sex industry treads a fine line. “​​The thing is, should [this] even be a case in the first place? Because it’s just a waste of time,” she said, adding that a wider clampdown could open up a can of worms about the government’s stance towards sex and what it deems as obscene content. 

“Porn is basically anything that’s meant to deliberately sexually stimulate a person,” Woo said, “Then, does that mean that erotica is illegal? Because if so, then why is Fifty Shades of Grey in [bookstores]?”

As it stands, Low is currently facing prison time of up to three months, a fine, or both. The situation escalated when police officers came knocking at his door in October, seizing possessions like his personal devices. In December, after two months of uncertainty about where his case stood, Low was arrested and placed in custody. “It all happened very fast—almost too quickly,” Low said. “It was very stressful.” 

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) declined to comment on Low’s version of events when contacted by VICE. But an earlier press release confirmed that a 22-year-old local man had been arrested in relation to charges of “electronic transmission of obscene materials” on OnlyFans.

Advertisement

“The man was warned at the time when the order was served, that a breach of the order would amount to a criminal offence,” the SPF wrote. “Despite that, the man allegedly wrote in to the ‘OnlyFans’ administrators, claiming that his account was not secured, and a password reset was done.”

“The man subsequently regained access to the account and allegedly continued to electronically transmit more obscene materials using the account and another secondary account.” 

OnlyFans is not restricted in Singapore, at least not yet. But in the eyes of the law, pornography and other materials deemed to be “lewd or obscene” are highly frowned upon, said associate law professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University. 

Tan, who once served as a nominated member of Singapore’s parliament, told VICE that the current laws “reflected Singapore society’s moral standards” as well as the “lack of public acceptance” for adult content. 

“Obscene material is not seen as deserving of legal protection in Singapore,” Tan said. “Authorities are generally not concerned with the sharing of intimate photos between two consenting adults but it crosses the line when such photos are shared widely, such as on a subscription-based platform.” 

“[Whether] a site providing obscene material requires a subscription makes no difference,” he said. “The objection is in the production, transmission and sharing of such material. Creators and subscribers are individually liable for their acts of commission or omission on the platform.” 

Advertisement

“Obscene material is not seen as deserving of legal protection in Singapore.”

Low said he has received no support from OnlyFans and added that he reached out to moderators on the site through emails, but only received generic responses apologizing for “inconvenience caused” and informing him that his account was “under investigation.”

“Creators are part of their income,” Low said. “There’s no reason for OnlyFans not to help. This is something that OnlyFans should see to in Singapore, set ground rules so that creators know what we can and can’t do. I’m being made an example [of].”

When approached by VICE, legal representatives at OnlyFans deferred to the site’s media team for official comment. At the time of publication, representatives have not acknowledged or responded to multiple emails asking about Low’s suspension on the site, whether he would receive support from OnlyFans, and how his case would affect other subscribers from Singapore in the long run. 

Woo, the OnlyFans content creator, also suggested that a government clampdown may be looming in response to the rising bunch of young and wealthy OnlyFans creators like Low, who have been unabashedly vocal about their earnings through the site. Over the past year, Low captured mainstream attention in Singapore flaunting his luxurious lifestyle—something that he acquired after finding massive success on OnlyFans. 

Advertisement

“I think a lot of people can be very jealous of that and be like, ‘Oh, it's easy money,’” Woo said of Low. “I mean, he's very young also, and he's very good looking, and he’s very successful, but he also shows off a lot.”

Jan. 20 will be the day Low’s case goes to court, and although he won’t be physically present in the stands, it’s clear that the stress of it all is taking a toll on him. 

“I’m [definitely] more paranoid and conscious now of what I post on social media, and I’m even more careful with photos,” Low said, revealing that he was now suffering the effects of anxiety and symptoms relating to post-traumatic stress disorder. “When I go out in public, I get stares. People talk about me and there are a lot of eyes [on me]. I feel very uneasy.” 

In earlier media interviews, he previously said that he wouldn’t rule out moving abroad to continue his OnlyFans career if it came down to it, given that a large portion of his subscriber fanbase was overseas. But now, he doesn’t seem so sure. 

“Looking forward is the biggest question for us creators,” Low said. “After my case is closed, will we still be allowed to do the same content? Or if we did it in another country, would we get charged when we come back to Singapore?” 

Follow Heather Chen on Twitter and Koh Ewe on Instagram.