Alex Trelinski
A JUDGE has rejected a bid to deport a man to his native Singapore, who has been accused of killing tourist Audrey Fang, and could have faced the death penalty if convicted.
The Policia Nacional wanted Mitchell Ong, 44, expelled because he was in Spain illegally at the time of Fang’s death in April 2024.
A court in Cieza, Murcia ruled that Ong did not meet the criteria outlined in Spain’s laws pertaining to the expulsion of foreigners.
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One of which states that immediate deportation can take place if an individual has been charged with a crime and is given a jail sentence of fewer than six years, or is given an alternate sentence, such as a fine.
As the minimum jail sentence for Ong’s potential murder charge is 15 years, he does not meet the standard required to be expelled.
Ong’s lawyer, Maria Jesus Ruiz de Castaneda, had opposed the request earlier in May.
She stated at the time that expulsion would be a violation of the rule of law and international treaties Spain has signed and ratified.
“He is involved in ongoing criminal proceedings in Spain, where he must be tried with due process,” she said.
“Expulsion would be contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, the principle of non-refoulement and Spain’s commitments against the death penalty,” she added.
Ong’s lawyer had previously demanded that all charges be dismissed, stating that all the necessary evidence had to be examined and that Ong ‘firmly and consistently’ insisted he did not kill Audrey Fang.
He is currently in custody at Sangonera prison in Murcia.
He has been accused of killing Audrey Fang, 39, in April 2024 when she was on holiday in Spain- staying at a Javea hotel on the Costa Blanca.
CCTV footage showed Ong pick her up outside the hotel.
Her body was discovered on April 10 dumped by a lorry park in Abanilla in Murcia- some 150 kms away.
Audrey had been stabbed over 30 times and Ong was arrested six days later in Alicante.
They were said to have had an ‘on-off’ relationship for over a decade.
