SINGAPORE: Jeffrey Ong Su Aun, the lawyer who allegedly went missing along with S$33 million, was charged on Thursday (Jun 13) with forgery, while more firms have come forward on S$16 million worth of transactions purportedly involving him.
Ong, 41, the managing director of law firm JLC Advisors, was given eight additional charges of forgery for the purpose of cheating.
Advertisement Advertisement He had already been charged earlier this month with one count of cheating involving S$6 million.
He was accused of deceiving CCJ Investment into believing that it had entered into a loan agreement with Suite Development, inducing CCJ Investment to disburse a sum of S$6 million.
[h=3]READ: Singapore lawyer linked to missing S$33 million was arrested in KL hotel[/h]Ong appeared in court via video-link on Thursday wearing a red top and glasses. The additional eight charges are linked to the same firms CCJ Investment and Suite Development.
Advertisement Advertisement Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Khoo told the court that on top of the additional charges, the prosecution was applying for another week's remand.
Explaining the reasons, he said: "Apart from S$33 million concerning Allied Tech, three other clients of Ong's law firm have also come forward to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) to inform them regarding authorised transactions."
This was regarding money held at Ong's firm, JLC Advisors. The total sum involved is S$16 million, according to the prosecution.
"The CAD requests time to conduct fund-tracing as well as ascertain exactly which of the transactions are unauthorised and as such we would be grateful for a further week of remand," said the prosecutor.
The judge allowed his request and set the date for the next hearing for Jun 20.
[h=3]READ: Law Society takes control of law firm's funds after S$33 million and lawyer go missing[/h]Ong has not been charged over the S$16 million nor the S$33 million. Engineering firm Allied Technologies had filed a police report over an unauthorised payout of S$33 million from its escrow account - an account where funds are held while two or more parties complete a transaction.
The account was held by Ong's firm, and Ong allegedly authorised the payout before going missing, according to Allied Tech.
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