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SINGAPORE – Attorneys for a man facing a series of fraud, forgery and breach of trust charges involving a massive sum of nearly $ 76 million have requested that he be released on bail, arguing that he has been in pretrial detention for two years.
In a bail review on Friday (March 26), one of Jeffrey Ong Su Aun’s attorneys, Mr. Tan Hee Joek, told the court that his client is a “true blue Singaporean” from a “respectable family.” who also has a brother with a “high-level position in public service.”
The identity of his brother was not disclosed in court.
Tan also said that Ong has a three-year-old son whom he “loves deeply” and emphasized that his client had never been in trouble with the law before this case.
The lawyer, who said that Ong “did not obtain any personal benefit” from his alleged crimes, added: “He should not be deprived of his bail.”
The bail review was postponed until April 9.
During proceedings in 2019, the prosecution had opposed Ong being released on bail, arguing that it is a “flight risk”.
Ong, an attorney, faces more than 70 charges involving $ 69.2 million and US $ 4.85 million (S $ 6.5 million).
In all, he has been slapped with 31 criminal counts of breach of trust and 45 counts of crimes such as forgery and cheating.
Ong, now 43, was a managing partner at the law firm JLC Advisors when more than $ 33 million in custody went missing at the firm for a client.
The trust is an essential service in the capital markets that supports transactions such as mergers and acquisitions.
Ong is no longer with the firm and a search on Friday showed that he is not listed in the electronic services of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority.
After the money disappeared from the law firm, Ong left Singapore for Malaysia in a private rental car on May 13, 2019.
He moved to a hotel in Kuala Lumpur and became uncontactable three days later. However, he was located and officers from the Royal Malaysian Police arrested him that same month.
Ong was found in possession of a stolen Malaysian passport that he had obtained from a friend known only as Calvin.
The passport was issued to a 43-year-old man whose photograph somewhat resembled Ong. He was repatriated to Singapore on May 30, 2019.
If convicted of breach of trust as a lawyer, Ong can be jailed for life or jailed for up to 20 years and fined.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.
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