SG Woman Alleges Social Media Manager Made The Fake LinkedIn Post To Blackmail Her
She said the freelancer demanded SGD5,000 (RM16,400) to delete the post.
By May Vin Ang — 26 May 2025, 05:52 PM
A Singaporean woman who recently went viral for mistaking a stranger as former DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta has now come forward with her side of the story, claiming the controversial LinkedIn post was made without her knowledge and used to blackmail her
The now-deleted post, which went live on Monday, 19 May, sparked widespread backlash after Gupta himself commented that he was not the man in the photo.
Janney Hujic, the businesswoman who purportedly posted the photo, was accused of fabricating the story to promote her travel company, Elysian Expeditions.
But, in an interview with 8world News, Hujic claimed she was unaware of the post, saying she was on a cave expedition in Vietnam without Internet access for the past week, and only found out about the LinkedIn post on Saturday, 24 May, through media articles.
She alleged that a freelance social media manager, whom she hired in March to handle her LinkedIn and Instagram accounts, was responsible for the post
According to Hujic, the freelancer published the misleading content to generate engagement, then locked her out of her accounts and demanded SGD5,000 (RM16,400) to delete the post and return access to her.
She explained that their arrangement included a reward system, where the freelancer would receive SGD1 (about RM3.30) for every like they got on a LinkedIn post.
However, she did not consent for the now-viral photo — which she had shared in a private WhatsApp group, joking with friends that she had "met Piyush" — to be posted on LinkedIn for traffic.
She said her partner has since transferred part of the demanded amount, but her access to the accounts has still not been restored.
At the time of writing, Hujic's LinkedIn profile is no longer available.
Amid the ongoing controversy, SG Enable, a Singaporean disability services and support organisation, issued a separate statement on 23 May, alleging that Hujic and her company had launched an unauthorised fundraising campaign using their name and branding
The campaign, allegedly seeking SGD60,000 (RM197,000) for the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund (GCTEF), appeared on Elysian Expeditions' website and social media channels.
"We would like to inform the public that Ms Hujic and Elysian Expeditions are not authorised fundraising partners of SG Enable, and we have not endorsed their fundraising campaign.
"The GCTEF logo and fundraising messages on their website are used without our knowledge and permission," said the organisation.
In response, Hujic told 8world News she had applied for authorisation to raise funds for GCTEF, but had not yet clarified the relationship between her company and the cause. She said she would follow up with SG Enable via email to explain the situation.
Despite her statements, Hujic's explanations have been met with doubt on LinkedIn
One LinkedIn user described her response as a "my dog ate my homework" defence, suggesting that a simple apology would have been more appropriate.
Others questioned the credibility of her claims, especially the SGD1-per-like reward system, which they said is not usual in social media marketing.
Another questioned the lack of supporting evidence, and added that even if her claims are true, they felt Hujic showed poor judgement in handling of the situation.
Meanwhile, the actual man in the photo, Kumar H Subramaniam, a Singaporean teacher based in Bali, has told 8world News that he believes Hujic is the victim of this incident and hopes netizens could stop their malicious comments towards her.
