SINGAPORE — The Singaporean man suspected of killing Audrey Fang in Spain owned several local businesses, according to Singapore Mandarin news platform 8World. 

Spanish news outlet La Verdad de Murcia has named the 43-year-old suspect as Mitchell Ong, who appeared in court on Friday (April 19). 

Two other Spanish media outlets, La Opinión de Murcia and Levante El Mercantil Valenciano, have also identified the Singaporean man with his initials “OM”.

Ms Fang, a 39-year-old Singaporean, arrived in Spain on April 4 and had been due to return to Singapore on April 12. She was found dead with 30 stab wounds near a parking area for lorries in the town of Abanilla on April 10. Ong was arrested six days later in Alicante.

SUSPECT SAID TO BE MARRIED, LIVED IN BUKIT TIMAH CONDO

Local marriage registration records show that the suspect got married in June 2012 and that was corroborated by one of his former business partners, reported Singapore Mandarin news platform 8World. 

It added that he lived in a condominium in Bukit Timah.

According to one of his LinkedIn pages, Ong is "the founder to three technology start-ups". 

He was a consultant at a financial advisory firm in 2013 before getting involved in a company, whose Facebook page states it aims to provide educational tools for financial literacy. 

Ong also held a role that "oversees business development and strategic partnerships" in another company, while his other LinkedIn page, which has since been deleted, indicated stints at two more financial advisory firms. That page also showed that he studied at a university in Singapore.

According to information obtained from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) by 8World, Ong is registered as the owner or shareholder of six companies.

The companies listed under his name include insurance and financial management firms, and the provision of educational support services and computer equipment-related services. 

Records show that five of these companies have been deregistered, with only one of them still in operation, 8World added. 

A scan by CNA of Ong's Instagram account showed that he attended global rave festivals such as Tomorrowland in Belgium and the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas in the past two years. He is also a frequent user of gyms, both in Singapore and Spain, and travelled overseas frequently.

His latest post placed him in Alicante on April 4, the same day Ms Fang arrived in Spain. 

Spanish police have proven that both Ms Fang's and Ong's mobile phones were together in Abanilla on the day she died, according to local newspaper Levante El Mercantil Valenciano. 

It added that she was not sexually assaulted and that the two had known each other for many years. 

The report said there might have been an "economic motive" for the killing, adding that Ms Fang had reportedly transferred money to an unidentified third person.

Ong is currently remanded in custody, pending investigations. CNA