6-5-2024 (MURCIA) In the gripping case of the murder of a Singaporean woman in Spain, the man suspected of the heinous crime, Mitchell Ong, 43, remains in pre-trial detention at the Sangonera prison in Murcia. His every move is closely monitored, as he is accompanied at all times by an English-speaking inmate while in custody.
Ong, a Singaporean national, was arrested on April 16 in connection with the death of Audrey Fang, whose body was found with 30 stab wounds on April 10. The tragic incident unfolded during Fang’s solo trip to Spain, where she was staying at the Ritual de Tierra hotel in Javea.
Carolina Flórez de Quiñones, Ong’s lawyer from Alicante, revealed in a phone conversation on Thursday that her client is in a state of distress and does not speak Spanish. As a result, he is accompanied by a “trusted prisoner” who is fluent in English and assists him with basic daily matters while in detention.
Ong has not provided a statement to the authorities, a right afforded to him under Spanish law. His lawyer confirmed that there are currently no plans for him to make a voluntary statement.
Sources close to the investigation have disclosed that Ong had no known connections to the regions of Murcia, where Fang’s body was found, or Alicante, where he was staying at the time of his arrest. His defense lawyer stated that Ong had entered the country as a tourist.
The chilling details surrounding Fang’s final hours have emerged. On April 9, she left her belongings in her hotel room and was picked up by a car. The following day, her body was discovered near a parking area for lorries in the town of Abanilla, approximately 150 km away from her hotel.
Initially, the body remained unidentified for several days, as it did not match any missing person reports in the area, and the fingerprints did not yield any matches in the criminal database. It was only after Fang’s family in Singapore raised the alarm about her disappearance, having failed to board her scheduled flight home on April 12, that her identity was confirmed upon their arrival in Spain.
Spanish police launched an extensive investigation, capturing CCTV footage of the same car that picked up Fang at her hotel later appearing at a restaurant in Abanilla, near the field where her body was found. Authorities also confirmed that both Fang’s and Ong’s mobile phones were together in Abanilla on the day she died.
Ong appeared in court three days after his arrest, where the judge ordered him to be remanded in custody without bail. The judge informed Ong’s defense lawyer that he could produce a voluntary statement at any time.
Manuel Martinez, the lawyer representing Fang’s family in Spain, is closely following the case while the family has returned home. Authorities have yet to confirm the motive for the killing, although previous reports suggested a potential “economic” motive.
Fang’s family discovered last month that she had purchased insurance policies from her suspected killer, Ong, in 2015. They came across two investment-linked policies from insurer AIA that were sold by an agent named Ong Cheong Yi, which is Mitchell Ong’s Chinese name. Marriage registration records in Singapore show that the suspect got married in June 2012 under the same name.
Spanish police are also investigating a Central Provident Fund (CPF) nomination note found on Fang’s iPad, dated March 24. The note stated that Fang had decided to nominate an unknown person for her CPF money because they were her “long-time friend and trusted confidant.” It also mentioned a loan of US$50,000 (S$68,000) provided to Fang due to their past friendship.
Fang’s family has expressed their intention to check with Singaporean authorities if Ong had been made a beneficiary of her insurance policies or her CPF money. Investigators are also exploring the possibility that Fang and Ong might have met through an online dating app.
