SINGAPORE: The former girlfriend of a man who is suspected of killing another Singaporean in Spain recently testified that he was "aggressive" and had financial issues when they were together, Spanish media outlet La Verdad reported on Monday (Sep 23).

Mitchell Ong, who is currently without a lawyer, was arrested in Alicante on Apr 16 over the killing of Ms Audrey Fang while she was on holiday in Spain. Her body was found on Apr 10 with 30 stab wounds, near a parking area for lorries in the municipality of Abanilla, about 150km from the hotel she was staying.

Speaking to a Spanish court via video link from Kyiv, Ong's former girlfriend, who is Ukrainian, said she met him a few days after Ms Fang’s body was found and noted the suspect had "injuries" on knees which he was unable to explain.

She added  that she first met him at a Brussels nightclub in 2021 and got into a relationship thereafter with various “interruptions”.

The woman said that Ong had visited her "practically every month" in Alicante, where she lived last year. 

In September last year, the couple broke up, though Ong continued to send her flowers and gifts. The woman said in her court statement that Ong would harass and beg her to get back together, prompting her to ask her friends to look out for her.

In April, Ong tried to reconcile by inviting her to Spain. While the woman said she was reluctant, she ended up agreeing to the trip and left him in charge of finding accommodation in Alicante, a city they were both familiar with.

The woman said she did not know why Ong booked the hotel in her name, adding that she knew nothing of Ms Fang or that Ong had been married since 2012.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras captured Ong arriving in Alicante on Apr 3. When asked why he had arrived in Spain earlier than expected, Ong said he had a previous meeting with friends in Barcelona.

Ong was arrested on Apr 16 on suspicion of killing Ms Fang, after camera footage showed she was picked up from her hotel in a car driven by him.

His ex-girlfriend arrived in Spain on Apr 12 and left their shared hotel room five days later as she was "afraid", according to the court statement.

During their time together in Alicante, she testified Ong was “aggressive” and would throw "tantrums" on several occasions. Ong would yell at her and, in one instance, threw a chair at her after an argument.

Besides the unexplained "injuries" on Ong's knees, the woman also recalled in her statement that he had acted strangely as though he was “paralysed” while they were in Alicante.

When asked what was wrong, Ong said that she should “be happy” that he was still “normal” after what he had "done", without going into further detail.

REPORTED FINANCIAL TROUBLES

Ms Fang's brother Benjamin Fang previously told CNA that his sister had nominated Ong to be the beneficiary of her Central Provident Fund (CPF), a mandatory social security savings scheme.

Around the time Ms Fang nominated Ong as her beneficiary, almost S$200,000 (US$148,000) was deposited into her CPF account.

Two close friends of Ms Fang have since said that the victim had been romantically interested in Ong, but he seemed interested only in selling financial products to her.

Ong’s ex-girlfriend told the court he had confessed to her about his financial problems in September last year and admitted some people had been "demanding" payment.

However, he then assured her that he would resolve his debt issues soon. While Ong did not elaborate how he planned to do so, he emphasised that “he would soon get a lot of money”.

During their stay together in April, Ong told his ex-girlfriend that he would receive the money "within two months", and that he would buy a house in Alicante. The woman noted Ong enjoyed a "high standard of living" despite his alleged money problems.

The lawyer for Ms Fang’s family, Mr Manuel Martinez, said Spanish police is still investigating a possible “economic” motive behind the killing.