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SINGAPORE: The defense attorney for a lawyer who has been in custody since June 2019 for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars from clients is seeking to have him released on bail.
Jeffrey Ong Su Aun, a former managing partner at JLC Advisors LLP, has been in pretrial detention for about a year and a half after allegedly fleeing to Malaysia.
His case first arose after engineering firm Allied Technologies filed a police report on a movement of S $ 33 million from his escrow account, an account where funds are held while two or more parties complete a transaction. .
Ong now faces 76 charges including fraud, forgery and criminal breach of trust as a lawyer involving more than S $ 75 million.
READ: Lawyer in the case of millions missing hit with 19 more charges, bringing the total amount involved to more than S $ 75 million
He has not been allowed bail since June 2019 when he was first charged, but his lawyer Tan Hee Joek tried to change that. On Friday (March 26) he argued for two hours for his client to be granted bail, but the matter was postponed until April for him to complete his filings and the prosecution to present theirs.
Mr Tan said that Ong has lived in Singapore all his life and is “a true blue born and raised Singaporean” who is “firmly rooted and domiciled in Singapore”.
He was educated at the Raffles Institution, Raffles Junior College, and the National University of Singapore before qualifying as a member of the bar in 2003.
He has no prior convictions and has never faced problems with the law until the present case, Tan said.
Ong has a three-year-old son whom he adores and loves deeply, and being separated from him in pretrial detention has lowered his morale, the lawyer said.
“He comes from a respectable family with none of the members having unsavory backgrounds or associations. His parents are retired civil servants and his only older brother holds a high-level position in public service,” Tan said.
He noted character references provided by his friends, former teacher and former client that are “strong testimonies that he will faithfully comply with all the conditions of the bond.”
LEE: Lawyer linked to the disappearance of S $ 33 million receives 13 more charges, the court hears the details of his escape to Malaysia
Prosecutors had said in June 2019 when they objected to Ong’s bail that he had a “high flight risk” as he had left the country after being asked about the missing money.
He allegedly got rid of his phone and fled to Malaysia, where he was later arrested with the help of local police.
Tan said: “Most Singaporeans and most lawyers would know that Malaysia is the worst place to escape.”
Malaysia has extradition agreements with Singapore. Tan added that Ong had used his own passport to leave Singapore, and was in China just before heading to Malaysia, where he spent only 17 days.
“The surprising element of the charges he faces is that he did not get any personal benefit from these charges,” Tan said. “This is not a David Rasif case as the public might imagine, him as a rogue lawyer who tried to elope with S $ 33 million. It’s nothing like that. “
Former attorney David Rasif allegedly stole around S $ 11 million of his clients’ money in June 2006. He is on Interpol’s wanted list and is still at large.
Mr. Tan said that Ong has maintained from the beginning that he did not personally benefit from the alleged embezzled funds.
He gave some examples of specific charges Ong faces: In one case, he claims that the S $ 250,000 that was transferred was made with the approval of the partner in charge of the file.
For another set of charges, Tan said the transactions had been duly authorized by the director of the related company.
“It is not an ironclad case on the part of the prosecution that will be guilty of all charges,” he said. “The accusation is not infallible.”
After presenting oral arguments for approximately two hours, the judge postponed the hearing until April for Tan to complete his presentations and for the prosecution to present theirs.
