SINGAPORE — The managing partner of law firm JLC Advisors, who went missing in May along with more than S$33 million from a client's escrow account, was charged with three more counts of forgery for the purpose of cheating and one count of criminal breach of trust on Monday (Oct 14). 

Jeffrey Ong, who turned 42 in August, appeared in a district court through video-link sporting a shaved head. He now faces a total of 26 charges — mostly for forgery and cheating — on top of his new ones.

These charges do not relate to the S$33.4 million that may have been paid out under Ong’s instructions from the account of engineering firm Allied Technologies, which was JLC Advisors’ client.

On Monday, Ong was charged with committing criminal breach of trust as an attorney by pocketing US$4.85 million (S$6.64 million) from the law firm’s Standard Chartered bank account around Oct 23, 2017.

This is the most aggravated form of CBT, which can attract a life sentence.

Ong is now also accused of making fraudulent statements of accounts for the said bank account from October 2017 to February 2019.

He is said to have done so in order to cheat one Chan Yi Zhang into believing the US$4.85 million held by JLC Advisors in escrow was present and unused in the StanChart bank account.

The funds were meant for a settlement involving two firms — Airtrust (Singapore) and Wrangwell.

Court documents did not state who Chan Yi Zhang is.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Khoo told the court on Monday that Ong may face more charges, as the authorities are still completing investigations and taking statements from him. 

He will next appear in court on Nov 25 and remains in remand.

ARRESTED WITH STOLEN PASSPORT

When he last appeared in court in June, the court heard that he fled Singapore on May 13 — 10 days before a May 23 Singapore Exchange filing by Allied Technologies, which first put the spotlight on Ong and JLC Advisors.

About two weeks after absconding, Ong was arrested in a Kuala Lumpur hotel with a stolen Malaysian passport. He had disposed of his mobile phone and got a new one with a Chinese SIM card before fleeing.

Prosecutors also previously said that he got a friend to take him to Malaysia and made arrangements to stay in two locations — an office and a hotel, which he did not pay for with credit cards.

Apart from his wife, Ong did not tell anyone of his plans, an officer from the Commercial Affairs Department said in his affidavit.

PAST CHARGES

Following his arrest in Malaysia, Ong first appeared in court here on June 1, and was charged with cheating a company called Suite Development. 

He allegedly did so by deceiving another company — CCJ Investments — into believing that Suite Development had entered into a loan agreement with it.

Ong is accused of signing a series of documents pretending to be the sole director and shareholder of Suite Development, one Tan Kwang Yong James.

Ong allegedly did this multiple times on Feb 18 this year. The matter is said to have involved a sum of S$16 million and the signing of documents, such as a shareholder’s resolution and a deed of guarantee, between the two companies.

Ong is also accused of dishonestly inducing CCJ Investments to disburse a sum of S$6 million.

Some S$3.3 million was used to refinance Suite Development's mortgage loan and about S$2.7 million was deposited into the client account of JLC Advisors, the court heard then.