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TV-show host Shin Jung-hwan, 35, reportedly lied about his coming down with dengue fever to cover up his gambling in Cebu, the Philippines, and is seeking to fly to another country to escape from heated media attention.
The popular singer and entertainer had claimed that he had been hospitalized for treatment for the disease, denying allegations that he lost hundreds of millions of won at a casino and borrowed money after putting his passport up as collateral.
However, staffers of an SBS TV entertainment program, which aired on Thursday, met a doctor from the hospital in Cebu and quoted him as saying that Shin had no symptoms of dengue fever.
The doctor said Shin just checked in to take a rest on Tuesday. The report came just hours after Shin posted a photograph and a long letter on his fan club website, showing him taking a medical checkup.
He claimed that his visit to a casino was just sightseeing and did not get involved in any form of betting.
Shin, who was discharged from the hospital on Friday, is believed to be either staying in a hotel in Cebu or has left for a third country. An aide to Shin told a local media outlet Sunday that Shin expressed hope that he would go to another country rather than returning home.
The aide, who paid a visit to Shin at a hotel in Cebu, originally planned to return to Seoul with him on the weekend.
But Shin changed his mind after a series of negative reports on him, he said.
“Shin expressed that he wanted to take a rest at a third country. He checked out of the hotel and disappeared,” the aide was quoted as saying.
Shin left for the Philippines on Aug. 26 and has cut off communication with his agency for a while. He did not appear for the scheduled filming of some programs.
This is not the first time that the singer-entertainer has become embroiled in gambling-related troubles. Shin received a 7-million-won fine for gambling at a private casino in 2005 and was banned from broadcasting, but returned to the entertainment business after some “self-reflection.”
신정환 “타국서 쉬고 싶다”… 행방 묘연
필리핀에서의 도박을 은폐하기 위해 뎅기열에 걸렸다고 거짓말을 한 것으로 알려진 방송인 신정환(36)의 입국이 늦어지면서 타국 행을 선택할 가능성도 제기됐다.
신정환의 최측근은 필리핀 세부에서 12일 국내언론과의 국제전화통화를 갖고 "현재 신정환이 필리핀 세부에 진을 친 취재진들을 피해 다른 나라로 갈 것 같다"고 전했다. 그는 "심신이 많이 지친 상태의 신정환은 타국에서 좀 쉬고 싶다는 뜻을 밝혔다"고 말했다.
그는 “신정환이 한국 뉴스 등을 접하고는 자신의 처지에 비관하며 사라졌다”고 말했다.
이에 따라 신정환의 행방이 묘연해진 가운데, 이 최측근은 홀로 13일에 귀국할 예정인 것으로 알려졌다.
신정환은 8월27일 필리핀 세부로 출국, 카지노 출입 사실이 알려지면서 도박 설에 휘말렸다.
이에 신정환은 지난 9일 새벽 자신의 팬카페를 통해 입원 사실을 알렸으나 SBS 등 국내언론은 현지 취재에 통해 신정환이 뎅기열에 걸리지 않았다는 사실을 알리면서 거짓말 논란에 휩싸이기도 했다.
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