SINGAPORE, Nov 11 — An illegal moneylender who fled to Malaysia after fatally stabbing a debtor in 1990 has been brought back to Singapore to face justice more than three decades later, CNA reported.
Ng Kwang Keng, now 80, pleaded guilty today to a reduced charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a weapon. He was originally charged with murder following the death of 27-year-old Lim Kim Leng, who owed him about S$22,000.
At the time of the incident, Ng — known in the underworld as Tai Kong — was 45. On November 6, 1990, he went to collect the debt with two men in tow. An argument broke out with Lim at the void deck of the victim’s block, leading to a violent scuffle. Ng punched Lim, who chased him up a staircase, where Ng stabbed him in the upper thigh with a knife.
Lim was found bleeding heavily and later collapsed. Before losing consciousness, he identified Ng as the attacker. He died a month later from multiple organ failure resulting from the stab wound.
According to the Singapore-based media organisation, Ng fled Singapore the same day and told a friend over the phone that he had stabbed Lim before crossing into Johor Bahru. He remained in Malaysia for more than three decades.
Ng was eventually detained in Johor Bahru under Malaysia’s Immigration Act. In April 2022, the Malaysian authorities sought Singapore’s assistance to deport him. He was handed over to Singapore police in December 2023 and charged the following day.
Deputy public prosecutors Terence Chua and Emily Koh said Ng had shown “a degree of premeditation” by bringing a knife to the confrontation.
“The accused fled the scene, absconded and was out of the jurisdiction for an extended period of time of 33 years,” they told the court.
“This was not the case of a voluntary surrender, and the accused would not have returned to Singapore but for the fact that he had been charged, detained by the Malaysian police… and thereafter deported.”
The prosecution sought a jail term of between six-and-a-half and eight years, with an additional six months in lieu of 12 strokes of the cane, which cannot be imposed as Ng is over 50.
Ng’s lawyers, Prakash Otharam and Rohit Kumar Singh, argued for a sentence of no more than five years and one month in lieu of caning.
They said Ng had shown “genuine remorse” by pleading guilty and noted his age and poor health, including chronic pain, dizziness, and a high risk of stroke.
“His family is currently waiting for him to return home. They are anxious that they may not be able to spend more time with him, given his elderly age,” they told the court.
Sentencing has been adjourned to Dec 30, pending clarification of Ng’s time in remand and his medical condition.
If convicted, Ng faces life imprisonment or up to 10 years in jail, and may also be fined.