Model-DJ Tenashar and boyfriend arrested for drug offences
Model-DJ Tenashar repeatedly denies she and boyfriend Thorsten Nolte are wanted by CNB. Instead, she asks: Are you sure this is not an April Fool's Joke?
Well known local model-club DJ Tenashar and her boyfriend, Mr Thorsten Nolte, are wanted by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for failing to report back after they were arrested for drug-related offences last October.
The New Paper received an anonymous tip-off earlier this week that the couple were on the run over drug-related offences in Singapore.
TNP then contacted CNB for confirmation by providing Tenashar's real name - Ms Debbie Valerie Long - and that of Mr Nolte.
A spokesman replied in an e-mail on Thursday evening that a 31-year-old female Singaporean and a 42-year-old male foreigner were arrested for drug-related offences in October last year.
The spokesman added that they were later released on bail pending further investigation.
He said: "As they failed to report back to CNB as required under their bail conditions, CNB has issued a gazette for their arrests."
A gazette of arrest is a notification to all Home Team officers to arrest or trace the whereabouts of a person, criminal lawyer Louis Joseph told TNP. He said a gazette is usually issued after or simultaneously with a warrant of arrest.
If the suspects were deemed to have breached their bail conditions, the bailors would be required to show cause before a judge in court.
'NO TRUTH'
When contacted through e-mail yesterday, Tenashar denied that she and Mr Nolte were in trouble with the law. Asked if there was any truth to the drug allegations, she said: "There is no truth in this, the ages are wrong as well. Whoever made these allegations is clearly looking to stir some gossip and slander us."
When TNP sent her a subsequent e-mail to confirm her denial, she said: "Yes, I deny all allegations made. Are you sure this is not an April Fool's joke?"
She did not reply to other questions, such as her age and birthday, and whether she was in Singapore or overseas.
Tenashar has two Facebook accounts, one using her real name and the other, her stage name.
On the former, she lists her birthday as Aug 3, 1990. The latter does not mention her age or birthday.
In media interviews, she has always given her age as "in her 20s".
Mr Nolte's last known reported job was as the CEO of a digital marketing agency. An online search with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority on Thursday showed that Mr Nolte was still listed as a director for digital marketing firm Upfront.
Tenashar told TNP last year that she had been dating Mr Nolte, who was then separated from his wife, radio DJ Jamie Yeo, since February last year.
This was shortly after Ms Yeo told lifestyle magazine 8 Days that she was divorcing Mr Nolte, whom she had married in 2010.
The divorce has since been finalised. Mr Nolte and Ms Yeo, 39, have joint custody of their five-year-old daughter, Alysia.
When TNP asked Ms Yeo over the phone yesterday if she was aware of the drug allegations against her ex-husband and Tenashar, she did not sound surprised and said she had known about the allegations for about three months.
Declining to elaborate, she added: "I prefer not to talk about it because of our daughter, who hasn't seen him in four months.
"He does contact her via Whats-App. My lawyers and I are trying to figure out what to do. It's quite public that he has been away. I don't know why and where."
"My daughter and I are doing fine and we are happy," she said.
When TNP e-mailed Tenashar about a story earlier last month, she replied that she had suffered a concussion after a snowboarding accident. Her Facebook page showed that she had been snowboarding in the Japanese ski resort of Niseko.
Both her Facebook accounts are still active. Her last public post on the Debbie Valerie Long account was on March 11, when she mentioned her accident and posted a picture of the medical report. Her last post on the Tenashar page was less than a day ago. It featured the line "I'm a Bad Girl" and a picture of her.
When TNP visited Mr Nolte's unit at The Quayside condominium in Robertson Quay, a security officer said he had moved out last October. His mobile number is no longer in use.
- Additional reporting by Ronald Loh
There is no truth in this, the ages are wrong as well. Whoever made these allegations is clearly looking to stir some gossip and slander us.
- Tenashar
As they failed to report back to CNB as required under their bail conditions, CNB has issued a gazette for their arrests.
- CNB spokesman
I prefer not to talk about it because of our daughter, who hasn't seen him in four months.
- Radio DJ Jamie Yeo, on her ex-husband Thorsten Nolte. She said she had known about the allegations for about three months
Manager: she's on 3-month break to focus on personal life
The sexy model-club DJ is infamous for her provocative image and has no qualms about flaunting her ample assets in skimpy outfits.
It is no wonder that she became the first Singaporean to be featured on the cover of Playboy Thailand magazine in October 2013.
That same month, the former FHM Singapore cover girl also became the first Singaporean to make DJ Mag's list of Top 100 DJs, snagging the No. 87 spot.
She was the only solo female DJ to make the list that year.
This came soon after she was slammed by netizens for filming a video of herself in the open when Typhoon Usagi devastated Hong Kong.
A Facebook user called her a "crazy, risky, and foolish girl" for filming the reckless clip.
That is not her only controversial action.
The former resident DJ at Avalon, who kick-started her career in 2009, was also slammed for starring in a viral employment agency's publicity video in 2012 in which she asks a former massage uncle to give her a rubdown.
As if to prove that there is no such thing as bad publicity, the attention helped her career to flourish.
Last year, she became the second home-grown talent to be signed to Universal Music Singapore, after singer-songwriter Gentle Bones.
Her personal life also made the news when it was revealed that she was dating British-born digital marketing agency CEO Thorsten Nolte last year.
Tenashar told The New Paper last year after six weeks of dating Mr Nolte: "We clicked immediately, and we are very compatible, like two peas in a pod.
"We are both smart and successful. I like that we are equals. We have a lot of fun when we are together. We are extremely in love."
WINTER SPORTS
In an e-mail exchange on Thursday, Tenashar's management said she was taking a three-month break to focus on her personal life and winter sports. It said the snowboarding crash in Japan had knocked her unconscious.
"When she woke up, she didn't know where she was or how she got there.
"She was rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a concussion and instructed to take a rest from snowboarding for a month and recover from the brain trauma."
Her management added that Tenashar will be making music again soon. "Producing in studio gives her headaches now, so she'll only start making music again once she's fully recovered."
It said she had lined up shows in Indonesia, Myanmar and Singapore, and will also perform at Daydream Festival in Belgium and Ultra Music Festival in Croatia.
On her website, Tenashar.com, her last tour date listing was Dec 18 last year.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now