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Suspect named as CPF beneficiary of Singaporean woman killed in Spain: Report

Mitchell Ong is suspected of killing Singaporean Audrey Fang in Spain. 

Suspect named as CPF beneficiary of Singaporean woman killed in Spain: Report

Members of the Spanish Civil Guard escort Mitchell Ong into a court room on Apr 19, 2024, after he was arrested in connection with the death of Singaporean Audrey Fang. (Photos: EPA, CNA/Calvin Oh)

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SINGAPORE: A man who is suspected of killing a Singaporean woman in Spain is a beneficiary of her Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings, a Spanish media outlet reported on Monday (Jun 3).

Mitchell Ong, 43, was arrested on Apr 16 over the killing of Ms Audrey Fang while she was on holiday in Spain. 

Her body was found on Apr 10 with 30 stab wounds, about 150km from the hotel where she was staying. 

Spanish news outlet La Verdad reported on Monday that a court in Cieza had on May 16 received a report issued by the CPF Board that Ms Fang had named Ong as a beneficiary of her CPF money.

CPF is a mandatory social security savings scheme that is funded by contributions from employers and employees. In the event of the person's death, these savings are given to the person's nominee or nominees.

If no nomination is made, the money will be handed to the Public Trustee's Office to be distributed to family members.

According to the report, Ms Fang, 39, had accumulated up to €340,000 (S$500,000) in her CPF accounts.

In response to CNA's queries, a spokesperson for the CPF Board said it has not received any requests from Spanish authorities and had disclosed Ms Fang's nomination details to her next-of-kin.

The CPF Board would conduct an investigation if it is informed of any facts or circumstances that may affect the validity of the nomination. 

"For CPF nominations that are contested posthumously, CPF Board will withhold the distribution of the deceased member’s CPF savings till investigations are completed.

"If the nomination is found to be invalid, CPF savings will generally be distributed based on an earlier nomination if any, or according to intestacy laws," said the spokesperson. 

Police in Spain have been investigating a possible economic motive for the killing.

They found a draft CPF nomination note on Ms Fang's iPad, dated Mar 24, that stated she had decided to nominate an unknown person for her CPF money because the person was her "long-time friend and trusted confidant".

It also mentioned that a loan of US$50,000 was provided to Ms Fang due to their past friendship.

Investigators also found Ong and Ms Fang had exchanged WhatsApp messages in October 2023, in which he thanked her for naming him as a beneficiary of her CPF money.

Spanish authorities are analysing hard drives belonging to Ong and Ms Fang, as well as Ong's mobile phone.

La Verdad reported last month that the Spanish court had asked Singapore authorities for banking and insurance information of both suspect and victim.

In April, Ms Fang's family found out that she had bought two investment-linked insurance policies from Ong in 2015.

The policies from AIA were sold by an agent named Ong Cheong Yi, which is the suspect's Chinese name.

According to a LinkedIn profile that has since been deleted, Ong worked at AIA from January 2014 to February 2019.

Before this, her family did not know what kind of relationship Ms Fang had with Ong.

Her family said then that they would contact the authorities to check if Ong had been made a beneficiary of her insurance plans or CPF money.

Source: CNA/rc(mi)

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