SINGAPORE - Nelson Loh Ne-Loon, co-founder of Novena Global Healthcare Group (NGHG), will be remanded in prison for another week.
Loh, 43, was charged in December with forgery offences. He allegedly forged financial statements of NGHG in 2019, and used them to obtain bank loans amounting to $18 million.
On Friday, he appeared in court via video link and asked if he could make a phone call to his children.
During his last court appearance on Jan 13, Loh told the court that since he had been remanded, he had not seen his family and children for a long time.
On Friday, the prosecutor said Loh’s case remains under investigation but the police have been asked to expedite the process.
Loh’s employee, Michael Wong, also known as Wong Soon Yuh, also appeared in court on Friday via video link.
Looking dishevelled, Wong said: “Can I request for bail? I have been in prison for one month. I want to spend some time to take care of my parents who are very old now.”
His bail application was denied as his case is also under investigation.
Both men had left Singapore in early September 2020 and had been wanted by the police for the last two years.
Within days of their departure, the police received a report that signatures of accounting firm Ernst & Young had been forged on some NGHG financial statements.
A warrant of arrest and an Interpol red notice were later issued against both men.
The notice is a request to law enforcement units worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or other legal action.
The police earlier said: “With the cooperation and assistance of our foreign counterparts in the People’s Republic of China, the two men returned to Singapore on Dec 24, 2022, and were arrested by the Commercial Affairs Department on the same day.”
NGHG was set up by Loh and his cousin Terence Loh. The cousins first made headlines in 2020 over their £280 million (S$460 million) takeover bid for English Premier League club Newcastle United.
Those convicted of committing forgery, intending for the document forged to be used for cheating, can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
