Man allegedly kidnapped in Thailand while out on bail claims trial to criminal breach of trust

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean man who made headlines in January last year when he was allegedly kidnapped in Thailand while out on bail is claiming trial in a Singapore district court to offences that include three counts of criminal breach of trust involving more than $320,000.

On the first day of Mark Cheng Jin Quan's trial on Monday (Nov 8), the court heard that he allegedly committed the offences in 2014.

His alleged accomplice, Loh Zhi Xiang, 31, was sentenced to 18 months' jail in August this year. Loh had pleaded guilty to offences including two counts of criminal breach of trust.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng Yuxi told the court on Monday that Cheng, 33, was the operations director of a firm called Zabel Global Investments, which was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in August 2013.

Loh and a third man, Peh Wei Siang, 33, were the firm's directors. The case involving Peh is pending.

From April to June 2014, investors put capital into funds managed by the company. The investors' monies were then pooled and used to trade in shares.

In one instance, about 16 investors placed some $7.6 million in a fund called Zabel Assured Sovereign 12, while another fund called Zabel Assured Special collected more than $730,000 for six investors.

The court heard that Zabel Global Investments had no other sources of income apart from the funds it managed. It was also involved in fund management - a regulated activity.

The DPP added: "At the time that Zabel was conducting the regulated activity... Zabel did not hold the requisite (capital markets services) licence, nor was it exempt from the requirement to have (it)."

In February 2014, Cheng opened a UOB Kay Hian trading account solely for Zabel's use as a temporary measure until bank accounts were opened in Zabel's name.

The following month, he opened a personal UOB current account to receive funds from the UOB Kay Hian trading account.

The DPP told the court: "The funds that Zabel collected from its investors... were deposited into the accused's (UOB Kay Hian) trading account. When these monies were to be paid out, they were withdrawn... deposited into the accused's UOB (current) account, and thereafter withdrawn from the latter."

In May and June 2014, more than $320,000 was later paid out of the monies in Cheng's UOB current account for items such as commissions to Peh and Loh.

UOB Kay Hian lodged a police report against Zabel, Peh, Loh and Cheng on July 1 that year. The Commercial Affairs Department started its investigations two days later.

Loh returned $133,500 to the pool of investors' funds in Cheng's UOB current account on July 7, 2014. Cheng returned more than $37,000 to the pool of investors' funds nine days later.

Cheng's trial will resume on Tuesday.

The Straits Times had previously reported that Cheng was out on bail in January last year and was supposed to be on a one-day trip to Thailand when he was allegedly kidnapped there.

It was allegedly masterminded by his travelling companion, Singaporean Kim Lee Yao Wei, then 31.

Cheng claimed that his kidnappers beat and electrocuted him with wires while demanding he pay his own ransom of US$500,000 (S$674,000) in bitcoin.

According to Cheng, he managed to flee his captors and was picked up by a man on a motorcycle, who dropped him off at Ongkarak police station in Nakhon Nayok province, about a 90-minute drive from Bangkok.

Lee was later arrested at a Bangkok hotel and charged with various offences, including robbery and assault.

Thai police had earlier told ST that the charges could amount to a life sentence. Court documents on Cheng's current trial make no mention of this alleged kidnapping.