2 charged over alleged involvement in posting of bail for man who subsequently absconded

Straits Times

6 days ago

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Long Zhihua, a 39-year-old Chinese national, was a member of a housebreaking syndicate and is facing charges of housebreaking and possession of stolen property.
SINGAPORE – Two men were charged in court on July 22 over their alleged involvement in the posting of bail for a man involved in a housebreaking case who subsequently absconded.
The fugitive is named in court documents as
Long Zhihua, a 39-year-old Chinese national, who was a member of a housebreaking syndicate and is facing charges of housebreaking and possession of stolen property.
Long was arrested after he allegedly broke into a Windsor Park Road house on June 21, 2024, and made off with more than $570,000 worth of jewellery together with an accomplice.
On July 22, Wilson Ang, 41, and Wai Kei Fung, 25, were handed one obstruction of justice charge each, and one each related to entering into an agreement to indemnify against any liability, which is an offence under the Criminal Procedure Code.
Ang, a Singaporean, was also handed a further charge over providing false information to a public servant.
In a press release, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that on April 1, Ang had allegedly posed as a bailor for a 39-year-old man who is named in court documents as Long Zhihua.
Ang allegedly did so for money and did not know Long.
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He is said to have entered into an illegal agreement with a third party to indemnify himself against any losses if Long failed to comply with his bail conditions.
Wai, a Malaysian, purportedly abetted this agreement by couriering the bail in cash to Ang to facilitate the posting of bail.
Ang allegedly acted as a surety to a bail bond for Long to the sum of $30,000, leading to Long's release from remand in prison.
After bail was posted, Wai allegedly drove to the prison, picked Long up and took him to a hotel. Wai purportedly paid for a room at the hotel to house Long.
Subsequently, Ang allegedly lodged a police report falsely claiming he had maintained regular contact with Long before eventually losing contact with him, in an attempt to deny involvement in the matter.
Long then absconded while on bail and failed to attend a court hearing for charges in relation to his case. The State Courts has issued a warrant of arrest against him, said the police, adding that it is working with foreign law enforcement counterparts to trace his whereabouts.
On July 22, Ang and Wai, who were in remand, attended the hearing in court via video-link.
A police prosecutor submitted for no bail for Wai, saying that he had facilitated Long to jump bail and because he is a foreigner with high flight risk.
Ang was offered bail of $15,000.
Their cases were adjourned to Aug 18 for the completion of investigations.
If convicted of obstructing the course of justice, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years, fined or both.
Those found guilty of entering into an agreement to indemnify against any liability, can be jailed for up to three years, fined or both.
The offence of providing false information with intent to cause a public servant to omit any action if the true state of facts were known by him, carries a maximum punishment of two years' jail, a fine, or both.
SPF said it take a serious view of acts that interfere with the administration of justice, and that offenders will be dealt with in accordance with the law.