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Hong Kong rejects Singapore man's bid to dodge deportation
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 24 Dec 2019
Author: K.C. Vijayan
Convicted for fraud and theft, he claims he would face serious personal harm back here.
A Singaporean conman, jailed in Hong Kong for cheating his lovers of money, fought deportation by claiming that he would face serious personal harm if he returned to Singapore.
But a Hong Kong judge did not buy his story, finding no merit in his "bare assertions", and refused permission to apply for a judicial review of his case.
Kevin Ong Siu Sin, 49, was ordered to be deported in August 2014 after he served a 54-month jail sentence in Hong Kong for fraud. Foreigners convicted and jailed in Hong Kong for serious offences are deported to their home countries upon completion of their sentences, if they have no valid visa to ground their stay. Ong first appealed to the Director of Immigration to stay the order and, when that failed, to Hong Kong's Torture Claims Appeal Board.
He told the board that he left Singapore in 2001 under threat from a relative - whom he claimed was a senior legal officer - who had stolen millions from his wealthy grandmother's accounts.
Ong said he had reported the incident to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau in Singapore.
The board dismissed his appeal in October 2017, finding his grounds for seeking protection in Hong Kong "unconvincing and lacking in credibility".
It noted it was not until 13 years after he arrived in Hong Kong - and only after a deportation order was made against him - that he applied for protection. Furthermore, his entire case stood on his bare assertions, "without any cogent evidence in support whatsoever".
The board added that, in any event, Ong would be protected in Singapore under his fundamental rights provided by the law.
Ong then applied to the Hong Kong High Court in January last year for a judicial review of the immigration director's and Torture Claims Appeal Board's decisions.
He claimed the board's decision was unjust as it failed to take into account that he did not have his Singapore passport and was unable to obtain a new one to prove his identity.
This prevented him from obtaining crucial documentary evidence to prove his claim of having made reports in Singapore, in order to prove that he was under threat, Ong said. It was unclear why he did not have his passport.
On Dec 11, the court dismissed Ong's application to appeal, saying it was unconvinced of his claims. It noted that he did not produce evidence that he or his lawyer had put in any request to any Singapore authorities for records of the reports he purportedly made against his relative.
It said Ong had been given ample time and opportunities before the board and director to produce documentary evidence to support his claim.
"There is simply none whatsoever... and I do not find any reasonably arguable basis to challenge the finding of the board on the credibility of his claim," said Deputy High Court Judge Bruno Chan.
He added: "I do not find any error of law or procedural unfairness in either of them, nor any failure on their part to apply high standards of fairness in their consideration and assessment of (Ong)'s claim."
Ong married a Hong Kong resident in 2004 and remained in the territory on a dependant's pass, which was terminated when the couple divorced in 2008.
He had claimed he was from a prominent Singapore family with substantial wealth and was a British law graduate with a degree in quantity surveying as well.
Prior to that, Ong had reportedly been fined and jailed in Singapore for cheating and theft.
He claimed to be a rich and high-flying professional and preyed on unsuspecting women.
In July 1990, he was fined $1,000 for cheating an Indonesian woman into paying for more than $10,000 of expenses incurred by him at the Westin Plaza Hotel. In 1998, he was charged for theft and cheating a woman he met at a pub, and sentenced to three months' jail.
The South China Morning Post reported in November 2009 that two websites were set up to expose Ong's methods in conning his victims - primarily women - of money, with details dating back to 2001. Ong was in 2009 described as being officially bankrupt.
In 2011, he was sentenced to 54 months' jail by the Hong Kong District Court for cheating two women, whom he was dating concurrently, of about HK$100,000 (S$17,400).
He had earlier been convicted of 15 counts of fraud and theft, according to media reports.
Source: Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.
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Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 24 Dec 2019
Author: K.C. Vijayan
Convicted for fraud and theft, he claims he would face serious personal harm back here.
A Singaporean conman, jailed in Hong Kong for cheating his lovers of money, fought deportation by claiming that he would face serious personal harm if he returned to Singapore.
But a Hong Kong judge did not buy his story, finding no merit in his "bare assertions", and refused permission to apply for a judicial review of his case.
Kevin Ong Siu Sin, 49, was ordered to be deported in August 2014 after he served a 54-month jail sentence in Hong Kong for fraud. Foreigners convicted and jailed in Hong Kong for serious offences are deported to their home countries upon completion of their sentences, if they have no valid visa to ground their stay. Ong first appealed to the Director of Immigration to stay the order and, when that failed, to Hong Kong's Torture Claims Appeal Board.
He told the board that he left Singapore in 2001 under threat from a relative - whom he claimed was a senior legal officer - who had stolen millions from his wealthy grandmother's accounts.
Ong said he had reported the incident to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau in Singapore.
The board dismissed his appeal in October 2017, finding his grounds for seeking protection in Hong Kong "unconvincing and lacking in credibility".
It noted it was not until 13 years after he arrived in Hong Kong - and only after a deportation order was made against him - that he applied for protection. Furthermore, his entire case stood on his bare assertions, "without any cogent evidence in support whatsoever".
The board added that, in any event, Ong would be protected in Singapore under his fundamental rights provided by the law.
Ong then applied to the Hong Kong High Court in January last year for a judicial review of the immigration director's and Torture Claims Appeal Board's decisions.
He claimed the board's decision was unjust as it failed to take into account that he did not have his Singapore passport and was unable to obtain a new one to prove his identity.
This prevented him from obtaining crucial documentary evidence to prove his claim of having made reports in Singapore, in order to prove that he was under threat, Ong said. It was unclear why he did not have his passport.
On Dec 11, the court dismissed Ong's application to appeal, saying it was unconvinced of his claims. It noted that he did not produce evidence that he or his lawyer had put in any request to any Singapore authorities for records of the reports he purportedly made against his relative.
It said Ong had been given ample time and opportunities before the board and director to produce documentary evidence to support his claim.
"There is simply none whatsoever... and I do not find any reasonably arguable basis to challenge the finding of the board on the credibility of his claim," said Deputy High Court Judge Bruno Chan.
He added: "I do not find any error of law or procedural unfairness in either of them, nor any failure on their part to apply high standards of fairness in their consideration and assessment of (Ong)'s claim."
Ong married a Hong Kong resident in 2004 and remained in the territory on a dependant's pass, which was terminated when the couple divorced in 2008.
He had claimed he was from a prominent Singapore family with substantial wealth and was a British law graduate with a degree in quantity surveying as well.
Prior to that, Ong had reportedly been fined and jailed in Singapore for cheating and theft.
He claimed to be a rich and high-flying professional and preyed on unsuspecting women.
In July 1990, he was fined $1,000 for cheating an Indonesian woman into paying for more than $10,000 of expenses incurred by him at the Westin Plaza Hotel. In 1998, he was charged for theft and cheating a woman he met at a pub, and sentenced to three months' jail.
The South China Morning Post reported in November 2009 that two websites were set up to expose Ong's methods in conning his victims - primarily women - of money, with details dating back to 2001. Ong was in 2009 described as being officially bankrupt.
In 2011, he was sentenced to 54 months' jail by the Hong Kong District Court for cheating two women, whom he was dating concurrently, of about HK$100,000 (S$17,400).
He had earlier been convicted of 15 counts of fraud and theft, according to media reports.
Source: Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.
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