1 day ago
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SINGAPORE: A Chinese syndicate member who made off with half a million in jewels from a landed house along Windsor Park Road later absconded while on bail and remains at large.
His Singaporean bailor, 42-year-old Wilson Ang, was hired to post bail for him via an advertisement on Facebook and lodged a false police report when the thief absconded.
Ang was sentenced to jail for six months on Wednesday (Jan 7) after pleading guilty to two charges of obstructing justice and entering into an agreement to be indemnified against liability as a bailor.
A third charge was considered in sentencing.
THE CASE
In March 2025, Ang responded to an advertisement on Facebook and began talking to a person known only as BBQ, who offered Ang S$2,000 to act as bailor for Chinese criminal Long Zhihua.
Long was accused of breaking into a house along Windsor Park Road in June 2024 with accomplice Luo Changchang in order to steal S$570,100 worth of jewellery.
Luo Changchang (left) and Long Zhihua. (Photos: Singapore Police Force)
BBQ told Ang that the bail sum would be provided by someone else.
Ang did not know Long or BBQ, or the source of money for the bail sum. Despite this and the fact that he knew that Long faced a serious charge and was a foreigner with no roots in Singapore, Ang agreed.
On Apr 1 last year, Ang went to the State Courts building and met co-accused Wai Kei Fung, a 25-year-old Malaysian.
Wai was carrying a bag of money he had collected on BBQ's instructions.
Ang took the sum of S$30,000 from Wai and posted bail for Long at the State Courts, signing a document acknowledging his duties as a surety.
These included ensuring Long's punctual attendance for all court dates and a duty to keep in daily communication with Long and to be aware of his movements.
Wai later paid Ang the promised sum of S$2,000 from the bag.
Ang did not fulfil his duties as Long's bailor and never intended to.
Long was released on bail, and absconded that same month.
When BBQ informed Ang about this, Ang lodged a police report on Apr 22, 2025, claiming that he had been able to contact Long every morning and night since he was bailed out.
Ang claimed that Long had been uncontactable for two days and needed to attend court soon, and that he was "quite worried about his safety" and wanted to make a police report as he was "missing for around two days".
This turned out to be false. Ang had not contacted Long since his release, and he had lodged the false report to shield himself from investigation.
Long's accomplice, Luo, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years' jail last year for housebreaking to commit theft.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh sought six to eight months' jail for Ang, saying he had no intention of fulfilling his duties as surety and was acting only for selfish gain.
Defence lawyer Derek Wong said his client was genuinely remorseful and cooperated with the police.
He said there was "no evidence" that his client "fully contemplated" that Long was a flight risk. He pointed out that Long's passport was impounded, he was represented by a lawyer and had already attended his fourth or fifth hearing.
Mr Wong said Ang did not know that Long did not have roots in Singapore, especially since he had never met Long before.
In response, the prosecutor said the unknowns "work against" Ang as he was "content to live with these unknowns" for the monetary reward.
He sought a sentence that would guard "the essential process of bail".
In sentencing, the judge said Ang did the offence purely for monetary gain and was "a necessary cog" in the process.
At the end of the hearing, Ang asked if he could begin his jail term on Feb 19, saying he wished to celebrate Chinese New Year with his family in Singapore.
The prosecution objected to the date, saying he would not object if the deferment was only until the end of January.
He said the nature of the offences indicated a risk of non-compliance with bail conditions.
Ang's lawyer said his bailor was his own family member - it later turned out to be his mother - and said he did not think Ang would put his own family member at risk.
The judge granted the deferment sought, with an increased bail quantum, and said: "I think everybody deserves a second chance."
For obstructing justice, Ang could have been jailed for up to seven years, fined or both.
For knowingly entering into an agreement to be indemnified against liability as a bailor, he could have been jailed for up to three years, fined or both.
