Forbes VN removes 30 under 30 inductee on sexual harassment allegations

Forbes Vietnam, the franchisee of business publication Forbes, has officially removed a member from its annual 30 under 30 list in the country after a group of female students accused him of sexual harassment.

The monthly magazine, however, didn’t clarify whether it was able to verify the claims.

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The member has been identified as 22-year-old Ngo Hoang Anh, the youngest on the annual list. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in epidemiology from the School of Medicine, University of Edinburgh in the UK.

Ngo had been inducted into the list by Forbes Vietnam for building an interactive Covid-19 modeling website that contributed to the country’s fight against the pandemic.

According to Forbes Vietnam, Ngo joined IT experts with the Ministry of Health in forecasting and developing policy scenarios as the virus spread rapidly in Ho Chi Minh City in 2021.

Following his entry into the list, accusations of sexual harassment made by several female students at his high school in Ho Chi Minh City resurfaced online. The school later apologized on its official Facebook channel for honoring Ngo after he was included in the list and not fully addressing the students’ complaints.

The case has led to public outcry on social media, with many debating whether Forbes Vietnam had done enough due diligence and considered the conduct of the inductees.

In May 2021, Forbes also announced the removal of Harsh Dalal, co-founder and CEO of Team Labs, from its 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2021 after Tech in Asia’s investigation found numerous gaps in Team Labs’ narrative.