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Under Raymond Ng’s bail conditions, he is not to interfere with any witness or obstruct the course of justice.
SINGAPORE - Raymond Ng, the spouse of an anti-vaccine group founder, and who has been charged with cheating, failed in his bid to ask if he can sue witnesses in his criminal case.
These witnesses in his cheating charges were among 12 alleged victims who purportedly lost around $60,800 over co-ownership of vending machines.
Under Ng’s bail conditions, he is not to interfere with any witness or obstruct the course of justice.
Ng, who is out on $15,000 bail, came to court on Oct 1 to clarify if suing some of these witnesses would breach this condition.
District Judge Brenda Tan dismissed the application.
She noted that the criminal court does not have the jurisdiction to provide such a clarification, nor is it in a position to give him legal advice.
Ng was handed 12 cheating charges on Feb 7 involving offences in 2019 and 2020 linked to a company called Vendshare, which dealt with vending machines.
His wife is Healing the Divide founder Iris Koh. She and two others allegedly conspired to falsely inform the Health Promotion Board that patients had been given Covid-19 vaccines when they had not.
On Oct 1, Ng said he intended to sue three of the 12 witnesses in his cheating case, at least for now. He did not state why.
Ng asked the court if doing so would breach the bail condition, and if the court could grant him permission to sue in a certain manner.
Ng said this meant initiating civil proceedings against the witnesses without personally serving court documents on them.
He also said he would apply for the civil suits to be temporarily halted till the criminal case ended.
‘I’m not a lawyer’
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jordon Li said Ng’s request did not come under the criminal court’s jurisdiction.
The prosecutor noted that there is a bail condition preventing Ng from contacting the victims, and laws to prevent interference in the witnesses’ ability to appear in court.
DPP Li reminded Ng to take legal advice independently on his intended course.
Ng objected to DPP Li calling the witnesses “victims”, saying: “They are only victims if I am convicted. I am presently not convicted yet.”
Judge Tan asked Ng if he had any legal provision or case law indicating that the court had the jurisdiction to respond to his request.
“Your Honour, I’m not a lawyer,” said Ng, asking for a 15-minute recess to conduct his research.
Judge Tan declined his request, saying he should have been prepared.
Ng then typed on his mobile phone. After several minutes, he looked up and said there were no grounds that suing a witness for a legitimate claim breached bail conditions.
His application was then dismissed.
His court appearance comes after the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) filed a High Court application on Sept 5 to require the couple to seek the court’s permission before they start new civil proceedings and continue with existing ones.
This application does not stop them from pursuing such proceedings entirely, as they may continue doing so if the court grants them permission.
An AGC spokeswoman told The Straits Times on Sept 18: “The Attorney-General is of the view that the orders sought will strike the necessary balance between preserving Mr Ng’s and Ms Koh’s rights to have access to justice and protecting the public.”
In a Sept 15 Facebook post, Koh said the AGC’s application sought to declare her a vexatious litigant.
Koh said she had to discharge her lawyer due to the application and represent herself in her criminal trial.
She added: “If my civil lawsuits for damages are restrained, my cash flow will inevitably be affected, which in turn impacts my ability to continue engaging legal representation.”
Multiple lawsuits
Ng is known to be involved in lawsuits against several individuals.
He was previously linked to the death of a 46-year-old woman who died by suicide while suffering from financial stress, in part because she was dealing with two lawsuits Ng had initiated against her.
On Dec 12, 2024, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda ruled Ms Geno Ong Kay Yong’s death on Sept 6 that year a suicide. No foul play was suspected.
[SRC] https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/court-dismisses-raymond-ngs-application-to-clarify-if-he-can-sue-alleged-victims-in-cheating-case
