Mitchell Ong

Mitchell Ong (born 1981) is a Singaporean murder suspect accused of killing a fellow Singaporean and friend by the name of Audrey Fang, in 2024. On 16 April 2024, Ong was detained by Spanish authorities, just four days after they had discovered Fang’s body in Abanilla, Spain.

Mitchell Ong Cheong Yi
Born	1981

Background

Personal life

According to 8World News, Mitchell Ong got married to his wife in June 2012 and the two share a daughter. As of June 2024, Ong’s daughter is reportedly enrolled in primary school. He also lives with his family and elderly mother in a Bukit Timah condominium. According to a past business partner, Ong also has two elder brothers, and his father had passed away.

Most of Ong’s Instagram posts show his love for EDM festivals (left) and working out at the gym (right). Photo from Instagram.

Ong is often active on social media, where he posts about his hobbies and day-to-day life. His Instagram account shows that he enjoys frequenting the gym and going to international electronic dance music (EDM) festivals such as Tomorrowland and Electric Daisy Festival. Some of the countries that he has travelled to include Greece, Poland, and Spain.

Relationship with Audrey Fang

According to Fang’s close friend’s testimonies, she and Ong had been acquainted with each other since 2014. Spanish media outlet La Verdad de Murcia reported that the two had met on the social dating site, Tinder, and had an “on and off” relationship. While Fang had expressed that she was romantically interested in Ong, it seemed that Ong had only been interested in selling financial assets to Fang. Prior to leaving Singapore in April 2024, she had informed these friends that she planned to meet Ong in Spain. It is also known that while Fang wanted to introduce Ong to her family, he had always refused.

Previously, investigations revealed that Fang had nominated Ong as the sole beneficiary of her Central Provident Fund (CPF) amounting to S$50,000; Fang had nominated him in October 2023. She had also purchased the following plans from a financial advisor named Ong Cheong Yi, which was Ong’s Chinese name:

• AIA Family First Protect plan (S$3,000)
• AIA Asset Builder policy (S$50,000)

This prompted the Spanish Civil Guard to investigate the possibility of an “economic motive” behind the murder.

Career

According to Mitchell Ong’s now-removed LinkedIn profile and website, he is a financial “expert” who claims to have a high-profile clientele comprising chief executives and heads of banks. He has been a private wealth management specialist since 2011, joining Premier FP Manulife Singapore as a Finacial Adviser between 2011 and 2013, and AIA Singapore as a Financial Services Consultant between 2013 and 2019.

Across his various LinkedIn pages, Ong listed six different businesses that he launched, which were involved in ventures like financial management, educational support services, and IT services. He also claimed to be “the founder to three technology start-ups”. However, five of these businesses have since shut down. The remaining insurance company listed Ong as a director since 2009, but its website seems to have remained idle since 2021.

According to an interview conducted by 8World News, a former business partner described Ong as someone who was volatile as a partner, but was “eloquent” and “good at selling things”. The two eventually could not see eye to eye and ended their partnership. Additionally, this former business partner mentioned that Ong owed him a substantial amount of money.

The murder of Audrey Fang

Mitchell Ong has been accused of murdering Audrey Fang, a 39-year-old florist and former architect who went missing in April 2024. Her body was discovered near a parking lot in Abanilla, Spain with over 30 stab wounds. A substantial amount of evidence has been uncovered, much of which points to Ong as the main suspect in the murder case.

Reports of Fang’s disappearance

On 4 April 204, Fang checked into the Ritual de Tierra Hotel in Xàbia, Spain. Four days later, the hotel reported her disappearance to the Civil Guard after she left her belongings behind and did not check out.

Shortly after, Fang’s family also lodged a police report after they found out she did not arrive home on a flight that was scheduled to land on 12 April, 7am SGT.

Ong detained by the Spanish Civil Guard

On 10 April 2024, at around 1pm SGT, the chief inspector of the local police division in Abanilla found a body next to a parking lot. Following investigations into the murder, Ong was detained by the Civil Guard six days later. As he was deemed a flight risk due to no connections in the region, Ong was remanded in custody without bail.

The authorities discovered that on April 9, Fang was last seen being picked up by a black vehicle. CCTV footage showed Fang leaving her hotel at around 8.45pm CET and this was later used to track down the vehicle, which was revealed to be Ong’s.

In another clip, the police tracked down the vehicle and discovered Ong at an Alicante parking lot driving the dame black car. He had previously left his hotel at 5.45pm CET, where he was seen on CCTV wearing black slacks and a hoodie. He arrived back at his hotel early the following day, at 2.06am CET, in the same outfit.

Spanish police searched Ong’s hotel room

La Verdad de Murcia reported that while the Spanish authorities searched Ong’s hotel room, they discovered a pair of limited-edition, Nike sneakers valued at S$1,362. This pair of sneakers was unusually large at European size 48.5, and its soles reportedly matched the footprints that were found at the crime scene.

The police also found a bouquet and a large sum of cash – €3,760 and S$1,000 (approximately S$6,609 in total).

Other findings

Investigations revealed that one of the purposes of Ong’s travel to Spain was to meet a Ukrainian partner that he was involved with. Before his arrest, Ong’s last Instagram post on April 4 also showed him at a comic book store in Alicante, the city where he had been arrested. Back in Singapore, while going through their late daughter’s belongings, Fang’s family discovered two investment-linked policies that she had purchased from Ong. The Singaporean authorities also found out that she had nominated Ong as the sole beneficiary of her CPF funds amounting to S$50,000 in October 2023. This led them to suspect that Ong had an economic motive for his criminal actions.

Detained in Sagonera prison in Murcia

After his arrest, Ong was detained in Murcia where he has only been visited by his lawyer, Carolina Flórez de Quiñone, who is an Alicante local. He also refused to speak or meet with Fang’s family after the latter arrived in Spain. As for life in prison, Ong does not speak Spanish and thus is accompanied by and relies on an English-speaking, “trusted” inmate for his daily activities.

As of June 2024, Mitchell Ong remains in pre-trial detention and has the right to choose not to testify. In fact, according to Spanish Law, an individual can remain in pre-trial detention for up to two years. The Spanish Civil Guard has since obtained Ong and Fang’s banking and insurance information from the Singaporean authorities. They had also seized their hard drives and mobile devices as they continued to piece together the motive behind the crime.

Two of Fang’s close friends testify in court

On 26 June 2024, two of Fang’s close friends testified in Spanish court via a video call, with the help of a translator. While the call was held in private chambers, it was reported that Ong met Fang on dating application, Tinder in as early as 2014. But while Fang held romantic feelings for Ong, the latter only seemed interested in selling financial assets to her. Furthermore, according to her friends’ testimonies, the two shared an “on-and-off” relationship.

These new findings corroborate the Civil Guard’s initial suspicion that Ong had “economic” motives for his crime.