Richard Yong Kun Da, a name synonymous with the old National Kidney Foundation (NKF), was the former Chairman of NKF. He resigned from this post on 14 July 2005 in the wake of a public outcry shortly after the NKF dropped a defamation suit against Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
Under a new management, NKF sued Richard Yong for breaches of fiduciary duties to NKF. The total damages are estimated by NKF’s solicitors to be in the excess of $12 million. On 27 April 2007, NKF commenced bankruptcy proceedings against Richard Yong after he failed to satisfy the Statutory Demand. These proceedings culminated in a Bankruptcy Order being made by the High Court against Richard Yong on 16 May 2007.
In the wee hours of 17 May 2007, Richard Yong left Singapore for Malaysia via the Woodlands checkpoint together with his wife, On Shu Kio. He did not inform the Official Assignee and obtain the Official Assignee's permission to leave Singapore as required under the Bankruptcy Act. In the months preceding his departure, Richard Yong had also secretly sold all his residential properties in Singapore.
Richard Yong subsequently travelled to Kuala Lumpur and eventually made his way to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (HKSAR) on 23 May 2007.
When CAD ascertained that Richard Yong had appeared in the HKSAR, Singapore made a request to HKSAR for his provisional arrest. This led to his arrest by the HKSAR authorities on 4 July 2007. On 3 August 2007, Richard Yong was extradited from HKSAR. The next day, he was charged with having committed offences under the Penal Code and the Bankruptcy Act
On 13 September 2007, Richard Yong pleaded guilty to the following 3 charges:
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24598/2007 |
Section 206 read with S109 Penal Code |
Richard Yong and his wife, On Shu Kio engaged in a conspiracy to fraudulently transfer GBP 1,275,123.71 (S$3.92 million) to On Shu Kio’s account in HKSAR with the intention of preventing such property from being taken in execution of the Order of Court. |
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24345/2007 |
Section 134(1)(a) Bankruptcy Act |
Richard Yong had failed to declare 3 POSB accounts in his estate which held a total of $10,771.12 to IPTO |
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24346/2007 |
Section 134(1)(b) Bankruptcy Act |
Richard Yong had omitted to inform IPTO that he had transferred his associate membership with the American Club to On Shu Kio on or about 4 April 2007. |
During sentencing on 18 September 2007, District Judge Liew Thiam Leng said the punishment should reflect the gravity of the offence and the aggravating factors included Yong’s illegal flight from Singapore – to Hong Kong and Malaysia. He sentenced Richard Yong to jail for 15 months with effect from 4 August 2007, the date of his remand.
Richard Yong remains an undischarged bankrupt and his bankruptcy is still under administration.