MONEY laundering accused Zhang Ruijin was denied bail for a second time on Monday (Dec 11), on grounds that there have been no material changes in his circumstances.

Zhang’s newly appointed counsel, Eugene Thuraisingam, had filed a bail application for his client claiming a “material change in circumstances”, and making the point that Zhang had been in remand for approximately four months since his arrest.

This is “almost two times” the length of time Zhang had been in remand at the time of his last hearing, Thuraisingam said.

“There must come a point of time where the prosecution must stop saying there’s a risk of collusion because investigations are ongoing,” he added.

Zhang’s counsel further urged the court to consider the seriousness of the charge, and whether the accused is a flight risk. He argued that the accused’s risk of collusion due to ongoing investigations should not be a feature in the judge’s decision, since “sufficient time” has passed.

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Gan Ee Kiat, however, argued that a risk of collusion remained, as there are still several individuals overseas who had helped Zhang manage his business, but who have not been identified “satisfactorily” by the accused.

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Gan also noted that it has only been 1.5 months since Zhang’s last bail review on Oct 18. If time were a factor of consideration, 1.5 months was “not that long”.

The prosecutor could not give an estimate of the time required for his team to complete investigations when asked by District Judge Brenda Tan, who heard the case on Monday.

After more than an hour of deliberation, the judge denied Zhang’s application to post bail, saying the risk of collusion remained, given that it had only been 1.5 months since the last bail review.

“The time has not come where the length of investigation in this case is so inordinately long that it is prejudicial to the accused,” said Justice Tan.

“In any event, the accused remains a flight risk; and on that grounds alone, bail should not be granted,” she added.

Zhang, who is purportedly in a relationship with another accused Lin Baoying, faces three charges related to forging bank documents used to cheat CIMB Bank.

Around S$109.8 million in assets related to him and two companies he owns with Lin – Golden Eagle Assets and Golden Eagle Family Office – have been seized by the Commercial Affairs Department or issued prohibition of disposal orders.

Zhang is one of 10 individuals facing various charges linked to a money laundering case in Singapore that has so far uncovered S$2.8 billion of potentially illicit assets. All 10 individuals are in remand.