Singapore tycoon under investigation for 150 possible crimes in $51 million embezzlement case

Ng, 58, and his wife Thor Chwee Hwa, 55, are the main suspects in the corruption case involving Citiraya Industries, a firm responsible for receiving e-waste from customers and sending it to be shredded and recycled. They were charged on December 4 and appeared in court via video link on Wednesday.

The CPIB said the couple, currently detained in Changi Prison, will be remanded for another week as investigations continue, according to The Straits Times.

The agency is investigating more than 150 possible offenses linked to Ng, as well as potential offenses involving Thor under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Offenses (Forfeiture of Benefits) Act.

Ng Teck Lee (middle in photo left) and Thor Chwee Hwa (right in photo right) in the custody of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau on December 3, 2024. Photo by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau

Between 2003 and 2004, Ng, then Citiraya’s CEO, allegedly misappropriated 62 shipments, or about 89 tons, of e-waste that customers sent to the recycling firm, he reported CNA.

He allegedly sold the waste to syndicates in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where it was repackaged and sold as new products, earning $51 million over the period.

Ng also allegedly bribed several people, 12 of whom have already been sentenced to prison terms of eight months to eight years for their roles in the scheme.

Thor allegedly arranged with her husband to open a Credit Suisse Hong Kong Branch account in her name when she had reasonable grounds to believe it would be used to retain the benefits of his criminal conduct, according to the CPIB.

Ng’s plans were uncovered in December 2004. He and his wife fled Singapore in early 2005 when the CPIB began investigating the case.

The duo was arrested in Johor Bahru, Malaysia last Tuesday after 19 years on the run and were charged in court the next day.

Ng faces a charge of criminal breach of trust for the alleged embezzlement and a charge under the Prevention of Corruption Act for bribing an employee of Advanced Micro Devices with US$20,000 ($14,900) to ensure that the tokens sent to Citiraya by customers were not at all. crushed.

Thor faces a charge of dealing with the benefits of criminal behavior.

The couple are scheduled to appear in court again next Wednesday.