SEOUL • Jang Ja-yeon's former manager has revealed that he told her to tone down her account of sexual assaults.

The testimony from the man, identified only as Yoo, marks the latest development in the re-opened case of the actress' suicide in 2009.

The 29-year-old left behind a letter describing her sexual abuse by reportedly 40 men in the media and entertainment fields.

According to broadcaster KBS, Yoo told investigators that he was with Jang when she first drafted her account.

She took his advice to take out the graphic details, said Yoo, who did not want to name the culprits.

Amid calls by netizens to bring them to justice, a recent episode of SBS' investigation show, Unanswered Questions, included an interview with Jang's friend, who revealed that the actress started taking sleeping pills and became secretive after she entered show business.

Actresses Yoon Ji-oh and Lee Mi-sook, who shared the same agency as Jang then, have spoken to the authorities in a bid to put things right.

Yoon recently asked for financial help to get to the bottom of Jang's death. She posted that since she gave evidence 16 times in the past 10 years, "I've been involved in mysterious car accidents, had my hotel room broken into and am living in constant fear for my life".

She said she had taken the precaution to get doctors' confirmation that she is of sound mind, "in case I get murdered and someone tries to frame it as a suicide".