Otto Fong Yong Chin (born 1968) is a Singaporean comic artist, playwright and teacher.

Early life and education

Fong was born in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

in 1968. His father was trade unionist and politician

Fong Swee Suan Fong Swee Suan (方水双 Fāng Shuǐshuāng; 27 October 1931 – 4 February 2017) was a trade unionist, founding member of the People's Action Party (PAP) and a Barisan Sosialis leader. Early life and education Fong was born in Senggarang, Johor ...

and his mother is former trade unionist Chen Poh Cheng. He has a brother and a sister. He studied at

The Chinese High School The Chinese High School () was an independent school in Singapore offering secondary education. The school merged with Hwa Chong Junior College on 1 January 2005 to form the integrated Hwa Chong Institution. Founded on 21 March 1919, The Chin ...

and later

Hwa Chong Junior College The Hwa Chong Junior College () was a Junior college (Singapore), junior college in Singapore offering Education in Singapore#Pre-university, pre-university education. The school merged with The Chinese High School on 1 January 2005 to form the ...

. He studied engineering at the

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

in the United States and took up a two-year diploma course in film directing at the

Beijing Film Academy Beijing Film Academy (BFA; zh, first=s, s=北京电影学院, labels=no) is a municipal public college in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the City of Beijing and co-funded by the Beijing Municipal People's Government, the National Radio ...

in 1994.

Career

Fong wrote several plays, including ''We Are Family'', ''

Cetacea Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...

'', ''Another Tribe'', and ''

HERStory Herstory is a term for history written from a feminist perspective and emphasizing the role of women, or told from a woman's point of view. It originated as an alteration of the word "history", as part of a feminist critique of conventional his ...

''. After studying in Beijing, Fong returned to Singapore in 1997 and worked as a video editor and graphics artist for a year. His first comic book, ''Buddy Buddy'', was published by the China Friendship Publishing Company in 1998. In 1999, he became a science teacher at

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...

. He wrote a musical, '' Mr. Beng'', which was staged at the

Singapore Arts Festival Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. It is organised bArts House Limitedfor the National Arts Council Singapore, National Arts Council. The festival is usually held in mid-year for a stretch ...

in 1999. His second comic book, '' Sir Fong'', was published in 2005. The book was positively reviewed by Prudencio Miel of ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...

''. The second installment in the ''Sir Fong'' series, ''Sir Fong 2: Fur-o-cious'', was published in 2007, and was again positively reviewed by Miel. He left Raffles Institution at the end of 2007. Fong has also created the TV series ''Totally Totto''. The third installment in the series, ''Sir Fong's Adventures In Science'', was published in 2008. The sixth installment in the series, ''Sir Fong's Adventures In Science Book 6: Synthetic Biology'', was published in 2017. Fong currently teaches in Anglo Singapore International School Sukhumvit 64 Thailand. In 2022, Fong made his acting debut, starring as Uncle Alex in Getaway (Gay Web Series), Singapore first Boys Love web series.

Personal life

Fong is openly gay and lives with his partner. He

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as gay in a 2,000 word-blog entry, and was asked by the government to take down the entry as the blog was also read by students. In a speech, Prime Minister

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a Senior Minister of S ...

used Fong's case to state that "Singapore should strive to maintain a balance, to uphold a stable society with traditional heterosexual family values, but with space for homosexuals to live their lives and to contribute to society."

References

{{reflist 1968 births Singaporean comics artists Singaporean dramatists and playwrights Living people