PETALING JAYA: An intelligence team from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission gathered critical information, including surveillance photos and personal details, before moving in to arrest a rogue Singapore tycoon and his wife who have been on the run for 19 years.
Confirming their critical role in assisting Singapore in the arrest, MACC said the operation began with a request from Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) for assistance in verifying and tracing the suspects.
"In April 2024, the CPIB Director visited the MACC office to discuss the case in detail
"Following this meeting, CPIB submitted a formal request for the service of a warrant of arrest under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 2002 (MACMA) and the Summons and Warrants (Special Provisions) Act 1971," the commission said in a statement on Wednesday (Nov 4).
After 19 years on the run over an embezzlement case involving more than US$51mil (RM227mil), Ng Teck Lee, 58, and his wife, Thor Chwee Hwa, 55, were arrested in Johor Baru on Dec 3.
Ng was the chief executive officer and president of the then-listed recycling firm Citiraya Industries.
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The company was in the business of recycling and recovering precious metals from electronic scrap, such as used computer chips.
Its clients included semiconductor giants like AMD, Intel and Infineon.
But instead of crushing items to recover precious metals from the scrap, Ng allegedly sent the products overseas to be sold.
His wife was allegedly in cahoots with him, and the two Singaporeans fled the country in 2005 when the CPIB investigated the case.
On Wednesday (Nov 4), Ng was charged with one count of criminal breach of trust, with both he and his wife appearing in a district court in Singapore via video link from Central Police Division.
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Earlier, CPIB director of investigations Vincent Lim said that the arrest after "almost two decades attests to the longstanding ties and close cooperation between CPIB and MACC.”
MACC said before executing the warrant, its intelligence team had gathered critical information, including surveillance photos and personal details of the suspects.
"Further analysis by CPIB using face recognition technology indicated a 70% likelihood of one of the suspects.
"With MACC’s cooperation, their location and personal details including passport and phone numbers, were traced," it said.
Following that, the Johor MACC office executed the arrest, marking the culmination of a comprehensive operation involving intelligence gathering, surveillance, and close collaboration across agencies, it said.
"This operation underscores MACC’s commitment, through its Foreign Mutual Assistance Investigation branch (FOMIA), to international cooperation in combating corruption and transnational crimes, demonstrating the importance of intelligence sharing, surveillance, and agency collaboration in delivering justice,” said MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
