SINGAPORE: Shortly after the body of 39-year-old Audrey Fang was found in Spain on April 10, 2024, local law enforcement officials arrested Mitchell Ong, whom Ms Fang had known for over 10 years. Both Ong and Ms Fang are from Singapore, and Ong had been made the beneficiary of Ms Fang’s CPF around half a year before she was killed.
In the latest development in the case, prosecutors in Spain are now seeking a murder charge against Mr Ong. On Feb 20 (Thursday), they told the court there was “sufficient evidence of criminality” for a murder trial.
Ong is still detained while investigations are ongoing. CNA reported that because of the seriousness of the offence, he would remain in custody. He has yet to speak on the matter of Ms Fang’s death.
His lawyers, however, are asking for new proceedings and for the current case to be dismissed. They’ve also requested an independent analysis from experts regarding his cell phone and his testimony.
What happened to Audrey Fang?
Ms Fang was last seen leaving a hotel in the Costa Blanca region of Spain, where she had been on a solo vacation, on April 9, 2024. She was reported missing shortly thereafter.
While she had been scheduled to check out on April 10, she never returned to the hotel, leaving all her belongings in her room. Her family grew concerned after not having heard from her since the day she was last seen.
After Ms Fang failed to make her flight back to Singapore from Barcelona, a family friend who lives in Madrid informed the Singapore consulate of her disappearance. They, in turn, contacted the local authorities.
On April 10, her remains were found with more than 30 stab wounds in a parking lot in the city of Murcia, which is 150 kilometres away from the hotel where she had been staying. Her identity was later established on Apr 17, with the delay being caused by the fact that her body was found without any identification documents.
However, the Spanish reported that law enforcement officers had also arrested a Singaporean man in the Alicante province on April 16 and later transferred the suspect to the Murcia police. Later reports said that Ong had been seen leaving his hotel at 5:45 on April 9. According to private prosecutors, he drove Ms Fang to a parking lot at around 11 pm. By the time he left 45 minutes later, she was no longer with him.
Police in Spain have been able to prove that phones belonging to Ms Fang and Ong had been together in Abanilla on the day of her death. CNA reported that there was nearly S$200,000 in Ms Fang’s CPF account when she nominated Ong as her beneficiary. /TISG
Read also: 39-year-old Singaporean woman missing after going on solo trip to Spain