SINGAPORE — One of the 10 accused persons in the billion-dollar money laundering case, who allegedly leapt off a second-floor balcony during a police raid to avoid capture, was denied bail on Wednesday (Sept 13) due to an “extremely high” flight risk.

District Judge Brenda Tan said that this was because Su Haijin, 40, a former non-executive director of restaurant operator No Signboard Holdings, is a Cypriot with no roots in Singapore, and has “considerable wealth overseas” that allows him to relocate and live a comfortable life elsewhere.

Su, who appeared in court on Wednesday through a video link, had been charged on Aug 15 with resisting arrest when he allegedly refused to open the door to the authorities at his Good Class Bungalow along Ewart Park in the Holland Road area.

On Sept 6, he was handed another charge of possessing money from criminal offences, involving around S$4.06 million in benefits that he kept in his United Overseas Bank account, allegedly from unlawful remote gambling offences, court documents stated.

Su, along with nine others, were arrested in one of Singapore’s largest anti-money laundering probes where assets such as properties, vehicles, luxury goods and gold bars worth more than S$1.8 billion were seized. All 10 have been denied bail.

At the State Courts on Wednesday, the debate about Su’s bail request went on for more than two hours.

EXTREMELY HIGH FLIGHT RISK

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Eric Hu told the court that Su’s extremely high flight risk is evident on the day of arrest when police officers went to his house.

Su fractured his heels, femur (a leg bone) and wrist during his escape, his defence counsel said previously.

“He took flight,” DPP Hu said. “He fled from his balcony and despite breaking both legs and injuring his wrist, he still mastered the will to hide in a drain, just outside his house.”

The police had also found a photograph of a St Lucian passport belonging to a “Su Junjie”. This is on top of various passports Su held that included a Cambodian and Turkish passport, which have not been recovered by the police.

A St Lucian passport provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to more than 140 destinations. St Lucia. is an island state next to South America in the Caribbean Sea.

DPP Hu said these clearly demonstrated that Su had “real means” to travel and leave Singapore’s jurisdiction easily, especially when Su had admitted that he had substantial wealth overseas.

He then told the court that Su had been charged with offences that did not offer bail, noting that in an affidavit submitted by the investigation officer, there was early credible evidence that Su had committed his offences.

DPP Hu added that should Su be released on bail, it will pose a significant risk of collusion, which could seriously jeopardise ongoing investigations.

‘OVERSTATING REASONS FOR DENYING BAIL’

Su’s defence counsel, Mr Julian Tay from law firm Lee & Lee, opposed the prosecution’s decision not to offer bail as he argued that the fundamental basis of bail rests on the presumption of innocence.

Mr Tay said that the three points raised by DPP Hu were overstated as there is no evidence that Su intended to flee or has taken any preparatory steps to abscond and make himself unavailable to attend court.

“My client has strong personal and financial connections to Singapore and he has made Singapore his home since 2017.” 

He added that since Su’s “whole village” is practically here in Singapore, Su will not abandon his family members by fleeing Singapore and becoming a fugitive on the run.

Mr Tay also brought up the matter of Su’s assets that were valued around S$170 million, which had been seized.

“It is my submission that the prosecution has no basis to suggest he would just abandon all his substantial assets in Singapore just to run away from it all.

“He has every reason to stay in Singapore to defend himself and reclaim his assets in Singapore.”

Mr Tay then urged the court to consider imposing certain bail conditions to act as safeguards such as implementing e-tagging, setting a curfew or a no-contact order, instead of denying bail.

These conditions would give the court the ability to revoke bail right away in the event that bail conditions are breached.

Mr Tay also pointed out that having Su in remand has created serious prejudice because his client has had to prepare his defence in prison where it is not only inconvenient to meet but also difficult to get instructions.

‘A VERY COMFORTABLE LIFE’ 

Responding to the defence’s point on supposed prejudice, DPP Hu said that everyone including investigators are subjected to the same conditions set out by the prisons.

DPP Hu also added that in relation to Mr Tay’s argument, it must be noted that bail hearings do not require rigorous fact-finding.

He reiterated that Su has substantial assets overseas, which could essentially allow Su to lead a very comfortable life if he should leave the country with his family members who are not Singapore citizens or permanent residents.

Following the submissions by the prosecution and defence, District Judge Tan decided to deny bail for Su, agreeing with the prosecution that he poses an extremely high flight risk.

The judge also agreed that Su has more than one passport and considerable wealth overseas, which allows him to relocate comfortably.

The judge noted as well that Su’s substantial financial dealings with another accused person and three other individuals involved, who had left Singapore, creates a significant risk of collusion or witness tampering if Su is released on bail.

Su is set to return to court in a month’s time for a pre-trial conference.