iFanatic

As if queueing to get the iPhone 6 was not enough.

This Singaporean fan immediately caught a flight to Taiwan - despite the possibility of being caught in a typhoon - just so that her idol, singer Issac Dang, 29, could be the first in Taiwan to own an iPhone 6.

Ms Joyce Chai, 33, an accounts assistant, said that it was a spontaneous decision to get an iPhone 6 for the Malaysian, who is currently based in Taipei.

Dang, who once worked as a graphics designer in Singapore before he was talent-spotted, is well-known as an ardent Apple fanatic. Her friend queued up and finally got the phone - a 64GB iPhone 6 in space grey - on Friday; that night, she was on a red-eye flight to Taoyuan airport.

She said: "My friend was in charge of queueing and buying the phone. My role was to take it to Taiwan and pass it to him personally."

She spoke to Dang's manager before the trip, who said that the star would probably refuse the gift as it is too expensive.

But the fan's persuasiveness - it was a two-hour session to-ing and fro-ing between the manager, Dang and Ms Chai - won out.

The condition? Dang would pay for the phone and her airfare.

Ms Chai said she wanted the phone to be a gift, but eventually agreed to the terms.

By 7am yesterday, she was on the way to meet the star, who recently won the Most Potential New Artiste award at the 13th Global Chinese Music Awards in Malaysia. The awards are organised by seven radio stations in Asia.

But she got more than what she bargained for: The affable singer took her out for a lavish breakfast to thank her.

She said: "I was overwhelmed. He is such a nice guy with no 'attitude'.

"Initially, Issac did ask me not to come because a typhoon was expected, but I was very insistent about getting him the new iPhone."

She also raved about how nice he was at breakfast.

When contacted, Dang, who recently recorded the theme song for Han Yew Kwang's movie Rubber, said he was very touched by Ms Chai's sincerity and thoughtfulness.

He said in Mandarin: "I was very surprised. I had intended to get it when I go to Singapore next week. I'm not in a hurry to get it.

"But yesterday evening, she told me she had bought it and she wanted to give it to me as a gift."

Issac, who is in the midst of recording his second full album slated for release in December 2015, said that he did not want to accept the gift at first because "it's not cheap".

He said: "I'm very scared that my fans spend money. I feel paiseh (Hokkien for embarrassed)."

Nevertheless, he is grateful to his Singapore fans.

He said: "Every time when I come or when I leave Singapore, they will be at the airport to send me off. Sometimes, they will also buy some food for me.

"I want them to know that all these little things touch me. There's no need to spend a lot of money."

As for Ms Chai, her initial flight was cancelled due to the typhoon threat and she was left scrambling to find an alternative.

She eventually found a way out.

When TNPS was on the phone with her yesterday, Ms Chai was rushing to the airport to catch the 7pm flight back home.

And she says it was all worth it.

This article was first published on Sep 21, 2014.
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