Arrest of Ng Teck Lee and Wife Following Nearly Two Decades of Evasion
A 19-year manhunt for Ng Teck Lee, a Singaporean tycoon and former CEO of Citiraya Industries, ended on December 3, 2024, when Ng and his wife Thor Chwee Hwa were arrested in Johor Bahru (JB), Malaysia. The couple had been evading authorities since 2005, when they fled Singapore amid investigations into a S$72 million (US$51 million) embezzlement case.
Ng Teck Lee, who was the head of Citiraya Industries, a company involved in recycling and recovering precious metals from electronic waste, is accused of misappropriating S$72 million from clients, including semiconductor giants such as AMD, Intel, and Infineon. Instead of processing the electronic waste to recover precious metals, Ng allegedly sent the materials abroad to be sold.
In addition to his criminal breach of trust charge, Ng Teck Lee allegedly bribed several individuals, and twelve people have already been jailed for their involvement in the scheme. Thor Chwee Hwa, his wife, faces charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act for money laundering related to the US$1.1 million allegedly gained from the crime.
After their arrest by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Johor Bahru, the couple was handed over to Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). They are set to face charges in Singapore on December 4, 2024.
