A Singaporean tycoon and his wife were arrested by the authorities in Johor Bahru (JB) on Tuesday (Dec 3) regarding their involvement in an embezzlement case involving around S$72 million (approx. RM237mil).
This effectively brought an end to their many years of evading capture, which spanned across a total of 19 years.
The couple were later handed over to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau’s (CPIB) custody on the same day of their arrest, according to a press release.
SG tycoon nabbed in JB along with wife for embezzlement
As per a report by the Straits Times (ST), Ng Teck Lee was the chief executive officer of Citiraya Industries, a now-defunct company which dealt with recycling and recovering precious metals from electronic scrap.
Among some of the company’s clients included reputable semiconductor companies such as AMD, Intel and Infineon.
However, Ng allegedly sold the scrap to buyers in Hong Kong and Taiwan instead of recovering precious metals from it.
Through this scheme, Ng was said to have raked in profits worth more than S$72 million.
His wife, Thor Chwee Hwa, is accused of abetting him in the crime.
How the scheme worked
According to ST, Ng’s brother — who was Citiraya’s then-general manager — would send the scrap to a warehouse belonging to Thor’s brother.
Ng would then sell the scrap to syndicates in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where it was repackaged and sold as new products.
In December 2004, the authorities were alerted of the matter when a complaint was lodged. Unfortunately, Ng and his wife fled Singapore in 2005 when CPIB began its investigations.
CPIB also found that Ng had allegedly misappropriated 62 shipments of electronic scrap, totalling to around 89 tonnes, between 2003 and 2004.
He was also alleged to have given out close to S$2 million (approx. RM6mil) in bribes to his staff and the workers of some of his clients.
Since the start of the investigation, 12 people have been jailed between eight months and eight years for their involvement. As for Citiraya, it changed its name to Centillion Environment & Recycling Ltd.
As for Ng and Thor, they were charged in court yesterday (Dec 4) with one count of criminal breach of trust.
Thanked M’sian authorities for helping
In the press release, CPIB’s director of investigations Vincent Lim expressed gratitude to MACC officers who lent a hand in capturing Ng and his wife.
“The successful arrest of the two Singaporean fugitives involved in this significant corruption case after almost two decades attests to the longstanding ties and close cooperation between CPIB and MACC.
“There is zero-tolerance and no safe haven for those who choose to break our laws by engaging in corrupt or criminal activities. CPIB will spare no effort to track them down wherever they may hide and bring them to face justice in Singapore.”
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