Court rejects David Yong's application to travel to Japan

Businessman David Yong’s application to travel to Japan for work on Aug 30 was rejected by the State Courts, with District Judge Terence Tay saying he remains a flight risk.

The 37-year-old chief executive of Evergreen Group Holdings, who was arrested on Aug 1 just three months after he appeared in Super Rich In Korea, a series on Netflix, is facing four falsification of account charges involving sums that run into the millions.

Yong, whose full name is Yong Khung Lin, had appeared in court on Aug 30 at about 2.30pm. He was represented by lawyer Joyce Khoo from the law firm Quahe Woo & Palmer.

The Singaporean, who is out on bail of $1 million, said he had to travel that day itself to fulfil a property purchase, and to seek other sources of income to fulfil his obligations under promissory notes he had issued.

A document related to the purchase of the property was submitted to the court.

Ms Khoo said Yong had to access funds in Japan as his bank accounts in Singapore were frozen because of investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD).

Deputy Public Prosecutor Theong Li Han said the document Yong produced showed he had to pay a balance of 351 million yen (S$3.1 million) towards the property purchase.

She added that it was a substantial sum and underscored the fact that Yong has access to significant funds overseas.

Judge Tay, noting that the deadline was Aug 30 itself, said Yong would not be able to make it to Japan before the end of the business day. Japan is one hour ahead of Singapore.

He added that there is nothing to suggest that the business meeting necessarily requires him to travel there.

“Aside from counterparties travelling to Singapore, as suggested by the prosecution, the meeting can also be held virtually,” said the judge, who added that another representative can also be appointed to represent Yong’s company.

Judge Tay rejected his application, noting that Yong does have other bank accounts and remains a flight risk.

The businessman was charged on Aug 3 in relation with a promissory note arrangement involving Evergreen Group Holdings.

Among other things, he is alleged to have instigated employees to falsify financial documents related to Evergreen GH, formerly known as Evergreen Assets Management, a subsidiary of Evergreen Group Holdings.

The police are also investigating the business activities of Evergreen Group Holdings for alleged fraud. The probe was prompted by concerns that investor funds were misused.

Evergreen Group Holdings is currently under investigation by CAD for possible violations of the Securities and Futures Act as well.

An affidavit from a CAD investigation officer showed that Evergreen GRP Holdings had issued promissory notes with a collective value of at least $63 million.

The affidavit stated that Evergreen GRP Holdings is linked to the other Evergreen companies.

In earlier proceedings, the prosecution argued that Yong was a flight risk as only $7.8 million in corporate accounts and about $2.4 million in loan agreements have been accounted for.

It was also revealed in court that Yong had possessed a Cambodian passport under the name “Duong Dara”, with Yong’s photograph and birth date.

His lawyer Sunil Sudheesan said the passport was surrendered to Cambodian authorities in June 2024.

On Aug 30, the court heard that the authorities in Singapore had written to their Cambodian counterparts on two more occasions in August. However, they have yet to receive confirmation that the passport was surrendered.

As part of his bail conditions, Yong has to abide by a curfew of between 10pm and 6am, and report to an investigation officer handling the case every Monday at 10.30am.

He must also surrender any travel documents in his possession and wear an electronic tag.

Evergreen GH was placed on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Investor Alert List on Jan 27, 2023, to warn consumers that the company is not regulated or licensed to provide financial services in Singapore.

As at Aug 3, records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority listed Yong as the sole shareholder of Evergreen GH. The firm was incorporated in 2018.

He ceased being a director of the firm in December 2023.

In an e-mail to investors on Aug 4, Yong’s father Yong Ing Fatt, who is the founder and advisor of Evergreen Group Holdings, said he would be stepping in to steward the company as the CEO is under investigations by the authorities.

Yong’s pre-trial conference will take place on Sept 27.

For each count of falsification of accounts, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.