Jeffrey Ong hit with 4 more charges involving S$11.7m linked to Allied Tech

Singapore

JEFFREY Ong, the former managing partner of law firm JLC Advisors, was charged in the State Courts on Tuesday with four additional counts of criminal breach of trust as an attorney.

The four charges, which arise from investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department, relate to the misappropriation of monies amounting to S$11.7 million from an escrow facility held by JLC Advisors for Catalist-listed Allied Technologies.

The S$11.7 million amount was Allied Tech's proceeds from a share placement exercise carried out in October 2017, according to a statement by the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

With the latest charges, Ong faces a total of 57 counts of cheating, criminal breach of trust and forgery. SPF said investigations against Ong are ongoing.

In July, Ong faced 15 additional charges, a majority of which relate to Allied Technologies' missing funds of over S$33 million.

Ong was arrested in Kuala Lumpur by the Malaysian police in late May last year after a police report was made in Singapore. He was extradited and charged with a cheating offence on June 1.

Precision engineering firm Allied Tech's escrow funds were reported missing last May. Between October 2017 and August 2018, sums of between S$9,967 and S$12.2 million were allegedly misappropriated by Ong, amounting to a total of S$33.8 million.

Allied Tech shares have been suspended from trading since May 3, 2019.