[Explainer] All of Netflix Super Rich David Yong’s charges

When you’ve got watched the Netflix sequence “Super Rich in Korea”, you is perhaps aware of David Yong.

The 37-year-old Group CEO of Evergreen Group Holdings, whose actual title is Yong Khung Lin, is notoriously generally known as one of Singapore’s high one per cent super-rich, the place, like his different castmates, he showcased most of his materials possessions within the present.

Aside from proudly owning supercars and a private personal jet, there was even a cash counter and containers of luxurious clothes manufacturers for show—principally, the entire gamut.

Alongside together with his “old money/nepo baby” standing, Yong is recognised as one of Singapore’s flamboyant media personalities, to the admiration and disdain of Singaporeans and worldwide audiences.

Regardless of being no stranger to controversy, Yong not too long ago discovered himself in scorching water with the authorities, as he was charged with monetary fraud, in response to numerous stories from Singapore information shops.

Here’s a breakdown of how Yong rose to fame and his charges so far.

Introducing the self-proclaimed “multi-hyphenate”

Enterprise and entrepreneurship will not be international territory for Yong, which is unsurprising, contemplating he took over the helm of his father, Yong Ing Fatt’s enterprise, Evergreen Group Holdings, a timber buying and selling firm turned enterprise.

In line with KrAsia, Yong usually accompanied his father on enterprise journeys and conferences to “observe” and “learn the ropes” of the household enterprise as an adolescent.

He finally joined the enterprise in 2010, spearheading the corporate’s transfer to diversify downstream and construct monetary and funding arms.

By means of Evergreen Group Holdings, Yong additionally entered the music business, the place he made headlines for making his Okay-pop debut as a 35-year-old CEO. In an interview with The Korea Occasions, he shared that he turned a fan in 2014 and determined to “study the K-pop industry”.

Okay-pop has been in vogue in Southeast Asia, however most Okay-pop file labels nonetheless should not have the suitable companions to cooperate with.

They’ve staged quite a few performances within the area, however many of them didn’t prove too properly, largely as a result of the Korean firms lacked the networks … For them, Evergreen can provide a serving to hand to focus on the Southeast Asian market, which brims with potential.

David Yong, Group CEO of Evergreen Group Holdings, then Evergreen Asset Administration, in an interview with The Korea Occasions in 2021

As a singer, Yong signed with South Korean music label Rainbowbridge World (RBW) and launched a number of singles, the place he collaborated with Okay-pop music acts comparable to rapper KID MILLI and Mamamoo member Moon Byul, who was additionally his labelmate.

Upon checking RBW‘s website, it is worth noting that Yong is no longer included in the label’s music artists record.

Past showcasing his vocals, Yong additionally made a S$10.2 million funding in Attrakt, one other South Korean music label identified to characterize Fifty Fifty, final September, and introduced auditions for the “future” quintet to Singapore.

Evergreen Group Holdings was additionally the co-organiser of the inaugural Waterbomb Singapore competition held final weekend, which proceeded and was well-received by the viewers regardless of the sudden information of Yong’s authorized troubles.

An fascinating however often-forgotten truth about Yong is that he’s additionally a practising lawyer. He beforehand graduated with a Bachelor’s Diploma from the College of Bristol’s Legislation College and established his regulation agency, YSL Authorized, in 2020.

Yong shared that his authorized background helped him quite a bit when he first took over the household enterprise, including that managing a enterprise might be “tricky” with out understanding the legalities.

Suspicions earlier than his arrest

That is ironic, contemplating he’s in scorching water with the authorities for allegedly falsifying monetary accounts and was arrested by the native authorities on August 1, 2024.

Nonetheless, the authorities and the media had their suspicions of the self-proclaimed multi-hyphenate lengthy earlier than his arrest. The Financial Authority of Singapore (MAS) listed Evergreen GH Pte. Ltd., previously Evergreen Belongings Administration, on their Investor Alert Listing on January 27, 2023.

Evergreen GH is one of the entities underneath Evergreen Group Holdings.

In line with MAS’s web site, the Investor Alert Listing gives a listing of organisations that could be or have, primarily based on data out there to MAS:

Wrongly perceived as being licensed or in some other method authorised or regulated by MAS;
Made a suggestion of models in a enterprise belief or collective funding scheme which can be or might have been wrongly perceived as being authorised, recognised, or registered by MAS;
Made a suggestion of funding which can be or might have been wrongly perceived as being made in or accompanied by a doc lodged or registered with MAS.

Singaporean information outlet The Straits Occasions sat down with Yong for an interview earlier this yr. The article revealed this June highlighted the differing figures that Yong and Evergreen Holdings have made public throughout various sources.

Key revelations offered within the article had been Yong’s particular person web value, his firm’s itemizing on MAS’s Investor Alert Listing, the possession of his home and vehicles seen within the Netflix actuality sequence, and his “alleged” twin citizenship.

The article said that in an look on the South Korean Actuality present Unpredictable Fortunetellers in August 2023, Yong proclaimed that he has investments and property amounting to round US$90 million. Vulcan Submit didn’t discover clips of the episode to confirm on the time of reporting.

Nonetheless, Yong shared with The Straits Occasions that his particular person web value was about US$10 million. He clarified that the US$90 million refers back to the whole worth of his property investments and never his particular person web value.

When requested about his firm’s itemizing on MAS’s Buyers Alert Listing, he claimed that scammers fraudulently used the corporate’s title, and he had since made a police report in March final yr.

Within the article, it was written that the information writer had seen a report by the official Royal Gazette of Cambodia exhibiting that Yong’s title had been modified to Duong Dara because of his new nationality.

In response, Yong denied it and dismissed the matter as “false news”, including that he had “no intention of giving up” his Singaporean citizenship. 

It’s value noting that Singaporeans will not be allowed to carry twin citizenship, as per Singapore’s nationality regulation.

A breakdown of all his charges

Cost #1: August 3, 2024

In line with a information article by The Enterprise Occasions, Yong acquired his first cost on August 3, the place he was accused of having the intention to defraud by abetting Jolene Low Mong Han to falsify papers belonging to Evergreen GH.

In a separate report by The Straits Occasions, it said that in response to a court docket doc dated on or about December 16, 2021, Yong allegedly instigated Low to falsify a tax bill dated Sept 1, 2021, from Evergreen Belongings Administration for the purported bulk gross sales of family fittings and home equipment to an individual named Roy Teo.

If convicted, Yong might be fined or jailed for as much as 10 years, or each, underneath Part 477A of the Penal Code.

Cost #2 & #3: August 8, 2024—Denied Bail

Yong acquired two new charges virtually every week later, on August 8 this yr.

In a follow-up report by The Straits Occasions, Yong allegedly instigated Low to falsify two tax invoices from Evergreen Belongings Administration for purported furnishings gross sales—this time to 2 separate entities on or about December 16, 2021.

An bill was dated Might 13, 2021, to Evergreen Enterprise Capital. The opposite was dated October 22, 2021, for purported gross sales of furnishings and inside design companies to Tay Ai Chern Pearlrie.

The report additionally said that Yong has remained in remand on the Central Police station since August 1. In different phrases, he has been held in custody by the police for the reason that day of his arrest.

Yong was additionally denied bail, as the prosecution claimed that Yong was a “real flight risk notwithstanding his roots in Singapore” after discovering the aforementioned Cambodian passport throughout their investigations.

Nonetheless, the whereabouts of these Cambodian identification paperwork are at the moment unknown, the prosecution mentioned, noting that the existence of the paperwork was established by investigations and never revealed by Yong, as per The Straits Occasions report revealed on August 8.

This suggests a risk that Yong “is hiding his possession of these documents and that he may attempt to use them to flee if not further remanded”.

Yong, wearing a crimson shirt and showing in court docket through video hyperlink, said that he had renounced his Cambodian citizenship in early June and was keen to observe all of the situations for his bail to be granted.

Yong additionally informed the court docket that he was “in a very bad mental state,” the place he talked about seeing a health care provider on the Institute of Psychological Well being (IMH) on August 3 and requested to see a specialist at Raffles Hospital.

The prosecution rebutted {that a} memo from the IMH physician didn’t particularly advocate a specialist. Yong has not raised some other medical complaints since August 3, including that any medical situation raised could be addressed as quickly as attainable.

District Choose James Elisha Lee granted the prosecution’s request to remand Yong for seven extra days. His case shall be heard once more on August 15. The report additionally said that Yong might seek the advice of together with his lawyer, Mr Sudheesan, a day or two earlier than the listening to.

Cost #4: August 15, 2024—Bail set at S$1 million

Yong was handed his fourth cost on August 15, the place he was accused of instigating somebody named Thung Sai Enjoyable to falsify a number of line objects in Evergreen Belongings Administration’s monetary statements.

In line with a report by The Straits Occasions, the monetary statements had been for the monetary yr that ended March 31, 2022, which resulted in a reported revenue earlier than tax of practically S$8 million.

On the identical day, the court docket additionally set Yong’s bail quantity at S$1 million, to which he should additionally abide by the next situations:

A curfew between 10PM and 6AM
Report back to an investigation officer dealing with the case each Monday at 10.30AM
Give up any journey paperwork in his possession
Put on an digital tag

As of now, Evergreen Holdings’s Instagram account has been set to personal on the time of reporting. Nonetheless, their web site continues to be accessible.

In a separate report by CNA, Yong is at the moment out on bail, and the Singapore courts rejected his bid to go away Singapore for a enterprise journey to Japan, explaining that his presence was not wanted and his flight threat stays excessive.

Yong’s pre-trial convention will happen subsequent month on September 27, 2024.

Learn different articles we’ve written about Singaporean startups right here.

Characteristic Picture Credit score: David Yong through Instagram