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Few public signs of trouble before alleged affair prompted David Ong to resign as MP

SINGAPORE — An extramarital affair with a fellow People's Action Party (PAP) member was behind Mr David Ong's move to resign as the Bukit Batok MP, multiple media reports said.

Lianhe Zaobao was the first to name the woman that Mr David Ong was alleged to have an affair with. Photo: TODAY

Lianhe Zaobao was the first to name the woman that Mr David Ong was alleged to have an affair with. Photo: TODAY

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SINGAPORE — An extramarital affair with a fellow People's Action Party (PAP) member was behind Mr David Ong's move to resign as the Bukit Batok MP, multiple media reports said.

Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao broke the news first on Saturday night (March 12). In an online report citing unnamed sources, the newspaper identified the woman involved in the alleged affair with Mr Ong as Ms Wendy Lim, 41, a senior executive in the logistics industry. She is said to be a member of the Bukit Batok PAP Women's Wing.

According to Zaobao, she is an active PAP member who took part in many grassroots activities in Bukit Batok. She also assisted Mr Ong during the 2015 General Election.

Channel NewsAsia reported that the affair had been going on for about six months. TODAY understands that the scandal came to light after Ms Lim's husband lodged a complaint.

Mr Ong has given no detailed explanation, in public, for his resignation. But in a statement to the media earlier on Saturday, he admitted to "personal indiscretion on my part which I deeply regret".

He added: "I feel that it’s the right thing to do to step down for the best interests of the party, my constituents and family....I would appreciate if you can give me and my family the privacy to heal and rebuild."

If the 55-year-old had been planning to drop a political bombshell, he showed no signs of it.

On Thursday, two days before his shock resignation, Mr Ong was still posting on Facebook several photos taken of a house visit he paid to some residents at Blk 182 Bukit Batok.

The post, the most recent on his Facebook account, was dated March 10, 5.58pm. It was unclear which day the house visit took place. Mr Ong, clad in dark trousers and a blue-striped long sleeve shirt, was pictured engaging warmly with the residents.

Mr Ong made no comments on the post. But a Facebook user Gurmeeto Gill praised him for being "a very hardworking MP", adding: "Good work David Ong."

Some 48 hours later, Mr Ong had resigned. In a letter to PAP secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Ong said was resigning with a "heavy heart" and cited "personal reasons". He apologised for stepping down prematurely, and thanked the PAP for enabling him to serve as an MP for about six years.

Mr Ong won his first election in 2011 as a member of the Jurong Group Representative Constituency (GRC). Last year, he was fielded in Bukit Batok which had been carved out of Jurong GRC as an SMC for the 2015 General Election.

He won a three-cornered race by a landslide, securing 73.02 per cent of the vote. He beat out the Singapore Democratic Party's candidate Sadasivam Veriyah, who got 26.4 per cent of the vote, and independent candidate Samir Salim Neji, who received just 0.6 per cent of the vote.

Mr Lee, who is also the Prime Minister, wrote back to Mr Ong to say he "deeply regret that I must accept your resignation". Mr Lee thanked Mr Ong for his service to the residents of Bukit Batok, particularly in setting up a team of volunteers and community partners to help those in need.

"The programmes you introduced are making a difference: helping needy families with monthly groceries, ensuring they get holistic assistance including jobs and healthcare support, and enabling a fresh start for individuals who have had repeated problems," Mr Lee wrote.

"In Parliament, you spoke up for the elderly regularly on issues such as the retirement age, CPF, Medishield coverage, and the use of Medisave for Specialist Outpatient Clinic treatments."

Mr Lee said he intended to hold a by-election in Bukit Batok "in due course". Mr Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development and an MP for Jurong GRC, was tasked with taking care of the needs of Bukit Batok residents in the interim.

Mr Ang Wei Neng, also an MP with Jurong GRC, took over Mr Ong as the chairman of Bukit Batok town council. Earlier on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam apologised to the residents of Bukit Batok on behalf of the PAP for Mr Ong's unexpected resignation, and assured them that their needs would continue to be met.

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