Content creator Kiki Darling apologises for not disclosing past conviction, after leaving ‘Ah Boys To Firefighters’

Kiki Darling says he was open about his past to those who gave him chances, but not to netizens

Local content creator Kiki Darling has broken his silence after leaving Jack Neo’s “Ah Boys To Firefighters”, apologising to netizens for not being open about his past conviction for sexual assault.

In an Instagram reel posted on Thursday (10 Sept), he acknowledged that he should have spoken about it sooner and promised to be “transparent” from now on.

Kiki Darling admits to sexual assault conviction

In the 5.5-minute-long clip, the 26-year-old content creator, whose real name is Hari Kishen Balakrishnan, admitted to being involved in a sexual assault case six years ago.

In November 2020, he sexually assaulted a 23-year-old male friend at an apartment after a night of heavy drinking, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).

As he was 20 years old at the time of the offence, he was sentenced to six months of reformative training, meant for those under 21.

He told netizens that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions, saying:

…The harm that I caused the victim, there’s really nothing I can do to ever undo such pain.

He enrolled in poly after reformative training

At the Reformative Training Centre, Hari Kishen said he was sent for rehabilitation workshops and classes, as well as counselling with a psychologist.

After his release, he wanted to “move forward” and “be a better person”, so he did his ‘O’ Levels as a private candidate and enrolled in Republic Polytechnic (RP) for a culinary diploma.

At RP, he realised his calling was volunteering after working with the less privileged, maintaining:

I wanted to pay back somehow for everything that I’ve done, and it was through giving back to society.

He says he made a mistake by not coming clean to followers

As for content creation, Hari Kishen noted that he “never expected” it to become such a big part of his life, having started just doing “comedy and yapping”.

Recognising that he had built a community that supported, loved and believed in him, he admitted that he had made a mistake in not being open about his past to his followers, saying:

It’s that I’ve been open about my past to the people who have supported and guided me because these were people who were giving me opportunities, and I felt like I deserved to tell them the truth. While I had been open about my past to them, I did not extend this same opportunity and this openness to all of you, and I’m really, really, really sorry.

Kiki Darling says he lost access to records

Hari Kishen also claimed that when he applied for university, he realised that he had no access to his records.

Thus, he believed that he did not need to tell anyone about his past any more.

However, he did not realise that he would still be recognised from news articles, he said.

His past came to light after another content creator, S Subhraaj, uncovered it and exposed him on Instagram.

He apologises, wants to show that he is a better person

Hari Kishen said that as he became active in the public eye, he realised he “needed to take more responsibility for my actions”.

Apologising to the online community for not extending this responsibility to them, and to those who supported him and are now feeling betrayed and being attacked, he added:

I can just feel how terrible you guys must be feeling right now, and I’m really, really, really so sorry.

He is striving to show that he is not the same person he was previously by giving back to the community and developing himself via education.

He will now need to take time to “move forward” with life, school and work, he maintained, adding:

I think I will continue doing community work because it is really not something that I would take away from myself or from others.

He also promised to be “transparent” and “clear”, with “no more hiding”.

‘Ah Boys To Firefighters’ production team unaware of his prior conviction

A spokesman from J Team Productions, which is producing “Ah Boys To Firefighters”, told CNA Lifestyle that the production crew was not aware of Hari Kishen’s previous conviction.

None of the cast members, who were revealed earlier this month, had declared any prior convictions, it said.

He later decided to leave the show after discussions with the production team, with the spokesman citing “potential reputational risks” as he was one of the main characters.

His scenes will be edited out of the movie, and the production team is searching for another actor to take over his role.

Also read: ‘I’m living the dream’: Zhin Sadali joins ‘Ah Boys To Firefighters’, gains newfound respect for SCDF personnel

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Featured image adapted from @imkikidarling on Instagram and MS News.