LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE PHOTO

Hong Kong police arrested him and his wife, Madam On Shu Kio, yesterday morning, 49 days after he left the country illegally amid a swirl of questions surrounding his assets.

He left the country just hours after he was declared a bankrupt on May 16, without seeking permission from the Official Assignee - an offence under the Bankruptcy Act. He faces up to two years in jail and a maximum $10,000 fine if convicted.

At Singapore's request, Yong and his wife were arrested by the Hong Kong authorities yesterday, according to a statement from the Commercial Affairs Department.

The couple will face a Hong Kong court today as Singapore authorities move to have him extradited here to face charges.

He will have a lot of explaining to do, not least of which is whether he fraudulently disposed of three properties amounting to $7.5m to escape paying damages to the NKF.

Yong, ex-board members Loo Say San and Matilda Chua, as well as former chief T.T. Durai owe the NKF some $12 million in all after the charity won a civil suit against the foursome.

Mr Loo and Ms Chua have been declared bankrupt, while Durai has worked out a payment plan with the NKF to return $4.05 million over four years.

Yong left Singapore on May 17, before the immigration authorities could be alerted to his status.

He and his wife abandoned their rented apartment at Cavenagh Gardens, leaving behind their maid and pet dog.

They crossed the border to Malaysia, going on to Kuala Lumpur where Yong filed an affidavit stating that he had only $247 in a bank account and that the cash from selling his properties had gone towards repaying loans and legal fees.

Yong, who became NKF's chairman in 2001, spent several decades working in various aspects of banking in places like Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong.

He then moved into private banking and was also a businessman. His commercial dealings with the NKF are now under scrutiny because they had not been declared.

Now, he is alleged to have tried to hide his assets after being declared a bankrupt.

Documents filed in the High Court show that Yong sold an apartment in the posh Four Seasons Park condominium for $3.88 million on Feb 7, just one day before he consented to judgment being made against him in the civil suit brought against him by the NKF.

Two days later, he entered into a deal to sell his second apartment in Bencoolen Street for $650,000. On March 23, he sold his Venus Mansion condominium on Peck Hay Road for $3 million in an en bloc deal.

He was declared a bankrupt on May 16, and in the early hours the next day, he and his wife fled.

He was declared a wanted man on June 13 for fleeing the county illegally and failing to hand over assets as required by the Bankruptcy Act.

Over the past three weeks, there has been talk that the fugitive and his wife had been spotted in Hong Kong's malls.

Lawyers said that Yong's wife, who is in her 60s, could be repatriated to face charges here if there is evidence that she helped him flee or assisted him in concealing his assets.

khush@sph.com.sg