SINGAPORE - The prosecution has reiterated its stand that the court should not grant bail for a lawyer who left Singapore after more than $33 million parked in his firm went missing.

In Jeffrey Ong Su Aun's bail review on Friday (April 9), Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Khoo stressed that Ong had left for Malaysia in 2019 after allegedly committing criminal breach of trust and should not be granted bail as he is a "high flight risk".

The Singaporean, now 43, was the managing partner of law firm JLC Advisors at the time. The monies were held in escrow for a client, Allied Technologies.

Escrow is an essential service in capital markets that supports transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. Ong, who is in remand, is no longer with the law firm.

In total, he is facing 31 criminal breach of trust charges and 45 charges for offences such as forgery and cheating. They allegedly involve $69.2 million and US$4.85 million (S$6.5 million).

On Friday, the DPP told the court that Ong's case involved "the largest amount of money ever misappropriated by a lawyer in Singapore".

He also said that five of Ong's charges have been amended and Allied Technologies executive director Kenneth Low Si Ren is now named as a co-accused in them.

The charges were mainly for offences in 2017 involving acts of criminal breach of trust. The Straits Times understands that Mr Low has not been charged in court.

After the monies went missing from the law firm, Ong left Singapore for Malaysia in a private-hire car on May 13, 2019.

He checked into a hotel in Kuala Lumpur and became uncontactable three days later. However, he was tracked down and officers from the Royal Malaysia Police arrested him that same month.

Ong was found in possession of a stolen Malaysian passport issued to a 43-year-old man whose photograph is said to bear some resemblance to Ong.

After his arrest, Ong was brought back to Singapore on May 30, 2019.

On Friday, one of his lawyers, Mr Tan Hee Joek, urged the court to grant his client bail, saying he is not a flight risk.

Without revealing details, Mr Tan said that a former Singapore Armed Forces overseas scholar is willing to be Ong's bailor. According to Mr Tan, the man in the Malaysian passport also bears no resemblance to Ong.

The bail review has been adjourned to April 13.

If convicted of criminal breach of trust as an attorney, Ong can either be jailed for life or jailed for up to 20 years and fined.

For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined.