The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a 12-year prohibition order (PO) against Mr Ong Ka Yong, a former representative of Manulife Financial Advisers Pte. Ltd.
The PO was issued after Mr Ong was convicted in state courts of fraud offences. His offenses also gave MAS reason to believe that he would not provide financial advice honestly.
On 23 August 2023, Mr Ong was convicted of 11 counts of cheating under Section 417 of the Penal Code with 14 other counts of cheating taken into account for sentencing purposes. He was sentenced to 47 months in prison on September 4, 2023.
Between April 2020 and October 2021, Mr Ong duped 25 victims into transferring more than S$1,200,000 to him for fictitious investment opportunities, allegedly offered by Manulife and another private company.
According to the PO, which took effect from 22 April 2024, Mr Ong is prohibited from providing any financial advisory services and from participating in the management, acting as a director or becoming a substantial shareholder, of any financial advisory firm under his Financial Advisers Law.