SINGAPORE: Singaporean businessman David Yong, who was featured in the Netflix series Super Rich In Korea and stands accused of multiple offences, will be travelling overseas for the third time since he was charged in court.
Yong, 38, is heading to Japan and China for business reasons, according to an application submitted by his lawyer, Aaron Lim, on Tuesday (Sept 9).
A district court granted him permission to travel to Tokyo, Hakone and Yokohoma from Sept 12 to 22, and to Shanghai from Sept 22 to 25.
Lim said his client would be meeting business partners in Japan to discuss joint ventures, and seeking advice from a Japanese law firm about recovering his money after a failed property purchase.
As for the Shanghai trip, the lawyer said Yong is seeking legal advice regarding a shareholder dispute, and needs to be physically present for reasons such as document retrieval.
The prosecution did not object to the travel application. Similar to the condition imposed on his other overseas trips, Yong’s current bail of S$1 million will be increased by another S$500,000.
He was previously allowed to travel to Seoul and Kuala Lumpur on two separate trips in July and August to attend to urgent matters for his businesses overseas, including securing new office premises.
The most recent trip to Kuala Lumpur from Aug 28 to Sept 1 was also for him to assist in separate police investigations based on reports filed by him, which are unrelated to his current criminal charges.
Yong, whose full name is Yong Khung Lin, is the chief executive of a group of companies collectively known as Evergreen Group Holdings.
He was charged in 2024 with four counts of falsification of accounts, and is represented by Navin Naidu, Philip Teh and Aaron Lim of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson.
On June 3, he was handed his fifth charge involving more than 1,000 promissory notes made by a company linked to him.
While his criminal proceedings were pending, the businessman made three failed applications to travel overseas before his request was finally approved.
In rejecting his previous applications, a district judge had found Yong to be a serious flight risk due to the lack of official confirmation about the whereabouts of a Cambodian passport he held.
Yong was featured in the Netflix reality series Super Rich In Korea in 2024, which depicted the lavish lifestyles of the “super rich” in South Korea.
He was arrested just three months later on Aug 1, and charged in court two days later.
Yong’s next pre-trial conference will take place on Oct 17. – The Straits Times/ANN
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