A photo posted by Coleen Garcia 💋 (@coleengarcia) on Oct 30, 2016 at 9:07am PDT

MANILA -- A report came out last week about rumors that television host and singer Billy Crawford was arrested in Hong Kong.

A tabloid claimed that he had to spend a night detained at a police station after punching a man who groped his girlfriend, actress Coleen Garcia, during a Halloween party held at a bar in Hong Kong's Harbour City last October 31.

In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Crawford denied that he was arrested, and clarified that he only cooperated with local authorities who brought him in for questioning. He also maintained that he did not punch anyone.

"Hindi po ako nakulong. Kasi kung nakulong ako, hindi ako makakabalik sa Pilipinas -- I'd be deported to the United States, " said Crawford, who is also an American citizen. "But may kaguluhan na nangyari dahil nabastos si Coleen and it was a verbal altercation between someone there and me."

The "It's Showtime" host furthered: "Good thing, iyong medyo shungang tao na nambastos kay Coleen ay ginawa niya sa harapan ng pulis. So nakita ng pulis."

"The thing about the Hong Kong police is that they're very, very strict. Kahit iyong pinakamaliit na magsigawan kayo sa street, puwede kang i-question or i-hold for statements."

Crawford added that he was only trying to protect his girlfriend.

"For me, I had to protect Coleen. Kababaeng tao, ayaw ko naman mabastos siya. Pero hindi ako nakipagaway, hindi ako nanuntok, hindi ako nasuntok. Walang gulo.

"As in masuwerte na lang kami and the police were there, and sila iyong nag-handle ng situation, which was the proper way of doing it. And if it's done in another country, you have to abide and respect the rules of that country so we were just complying."

Crawford was speaking after a press conference announcing his brand new project, a five-episode reality series called "The Ultimate Brocation" that will be shown on entertainment and sports channel Kix starting December 14.

It follows Crawford, along with three other famous Southeast Asian personalities, namely Malaysian hip-hop artist SonaOne, Thai DJ and host P.K., and Singaporean celebrity chef Bjorn Shen, as they storm Hong Kong's famed tourist spots without their "girlfriends."