Audrey Fang death: Mitchell Ong’s detention in Spain to be extended by 2 years

Ong’s lawyer, Ms Maria Jesus Ruiz de Castaneda, had requested provisional release subject to less restrictive measures, such as weekly court appearances or the use of an electronic monitoring bracelet, reported La Verdad.

However, the judge, in her recent ruling, said pre-trial detention was a “proportionate, appropriate, and necessary” measure.

This is given the seriousness of the crime, the strength of the evidence against Ong, and the “imminent conclusion” of the investigation.

The judge, accepting the private prosecution’s argument that Ong was a flight risk, stressed that Ong has no ties to Spain and that the prison sentence sought in the case could be severe enough to prompt him to flee.

If found guilty of murder, Ong could be jailed for between 15 and 25 years.

Ms Fang, 39, who had travelled to Spain alone, was found dead with 30 stab wounds on April 10, 2024, in a field in the town of Abanilla. Ong, 43, was arrested in Spain on April 16 that year.

In June that year, Ms Fang’s friends told a Spanish court that she had been romantically interested in Ong, whom she had met on a social dating network.

The friends said Ong appeared to be keen only on selling financial assets to Ms Fang. He had sold her two investment-linked policies in 2015, when he was working as an insurance agent with AIA.

He was also found to be nominated as the sole beneficiary of Ms Fang’s Central Provident Fund savings, with the accounts reportedly containing $498,000.