Man allegedly kidnapped in Thailand faces charges in Singapore
He is accused of misappropriating over $320k in 2014
A man whose alleged kidnapping in Thailand made headlines in January has appeared in a district court over charges in a case where he allegedly misappropriated more than $320,000 in 2014.
He was offered bail of $80,000 yesterday.
Court documents did not state if the misappropriation case was linked to his alleged kidnapping.
Mark Cheng Jin Quan, 32, told District Judge Christopher Goh yesterday he will be applying for a private lawyer to represent him after the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme rejected his earlier application.
Cheng, a former blockchain adviser with Singapore fintech company X Infinity, is accused of three counts of criminal breach of trust.
In May and June 2014, he was allegedly engaged in a conspiracy with a man identified as Loh Zhi Xiang, 31, to misappropriate cash totalling more than $320,000 belonging to an organisation known as Zabel Global Investments.
Loh's case is pending.
Cheng's case has been adjourned to March 2.
If convicted of criminal breach of trust, he can be jailed for up to seven years and fined for each charge.
He is also accused of conducting regulated fund management activities without a capital markets services licence, which is an offence under the Securities and Futures Act.
This was during the period of April to June 2014, when he allegedly acted as a manager for Zabel Global Investments.
The Straits Times previously reported that he was out on bail last month and was supposed to be on a one-day trip to Thailand on Jan 9 when he was kidnapped there.
It was allegedly masterminded by his travelling companion, Singaporean Kim Lee Yao Wei, 31.
Cheng claimed that his kidnappers beat him and subjected him to electric shocks, and demanded he pay a ransom of US$500,000 (S$684,000) in bitcoin.
"I told my captor I didn't have that much. I'm not wealthy," said Cheng, who transferred over 5.9 bitcoins that he and his friends owned, then worth about S$62,000.
According to Cheng, he later managed to run away from his captors, and a man picked him up on a motorcycle and took him to Ongkarak police station in Nakhon Nayok province, about 1½-hours' drive from Bangkok.
Lee was later arrested at a Bangkok hotel and charged with offences including robbery and assault.
Thai police told ST that the charges could amount to a life sentence.
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