A former lawyer faced a charge on Saturday, September 24, by the Singaporean Court for misappropriating money.
Lawyer on the Run for 15 Years
According to the police authorities, David Khong is a 55-year-old fugitive who was an ex-lawyer. However, the ex-lawyer was on the run for almost 15 years after he was allegedly involved in money misappropriation.
The ex-lawyer was alleged of being involved in the misappropriating activity with a client of his. One of the courts in Singapore has charged the fugitive with criminal breach of trust. The charge has been imposed on the ex-lawyer on September 24, 2022.
The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) Arrested Khong
The reports confirm that the Commercial Affairs Department was behind the arrest of the 55-year-old ex-lawyer. The CAD arrested the fugitive on Friday as he finally returned to Singapore after being on the run for 15 years.
On Saturday, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) issued a statement thanking the foreign authorities for their support.
In the statement, the Singapore Police Force confirmed that they were able to arrest the fugitive with help and support of the foreign police authorities. They fully cooperated with them and stayed in touch with them to share all the information they could share on the fugitive.
Khong Ran David Khong & Associates
Until 2007, Khong ran David Khong & Associates as the firm’s sole proprietor. He continued running the firm until he left the country back in August 2007.
Right after the lawyer’s departure from Singapore, the wrongdoing allegations started to surface against the lawyer and his firm. Following the allegations, the police authorities were able to acquire an arrest warrant against the lawyer.
As the lawyer had escaped from Singapore, the local police authorities made contact with Interpol to deal with the matter. The Interpol force was fully in on the investigation as they issued a red notice against the fugitive.
This meant that the search for the fugitive was launched on a global scale and he would be arrested and extradited to Singapore for trial.
Charge on David Khong
On Saturday, the charge was imposed on David Khong by the court of Singapore. It was alleged by the client that the former lawyer had misappropriated S$88,000 from one of the clients he had been handling.
The client had entrusted the ex-lawyer with the mentioned amount of money. Further trials will be held against the fugitive and if Khong is found guilty, he could face life in prison.
There are speculations that if the ex-lawyer does not get charged with life in prison, then he may end up facing 10 years in prison team. In addition to imprisonment, the fugitive will also face a fine.
More Investigations Underway
The police authorities have revealed that they are still investigating the case and they will be going through the ex-lawyer’s law firm’s data. They will be able to reveal if any more clients have the same concerns with the ex-lawyer.
If there are any, more imprisonment and fine may be waiting for the fugitive. The main foreign authority that helped Singapore Police catch the fugitive was the China Ministry of Public Security. The Singapore Police has since thanked the Chinese Ministry for their support and assistance.