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THE wife of former National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chairman Richard Yong on Friday insisted that she was not guilty.
The 63-year-old On Shu Kio said this when she appeared before a Wanchai Law Court for a plea hearing, after being charged on Aug 31 with money laundering.
Judge Patrick Li subsequently adjourned her case to Dec 21, after a brief five-minute procedural hearing.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, a trial should convene three months later following the next court session, a government prosecutor told The Straits Times.
On has been charged by Hong Kong authorities with transferring money that is said to be proceeds from a criminal offence.
She remains out on a bail of HK$100,000 (S$18,567) and cannot leave Hong Kong while awaiting trial.
On was not accompanied by her sister Ms Marianne On to court on Friday, unlike in previous appearances.
On fled Singapore with her husband after he was declared bankrupt in May.
They were arrested in Hong Kong in July.
Yong was charged with deceiving the new NKF board and transferring almost S$4 million to On in March, to avoid having to pay the charity S$1 million in a civil suit.
He was extradited to Singapore and jailed 15 months in September, after pleading guilty to three charges under the Bankruptcy Act and the Penal Code.
The money Yong transferred to his wife is believed to be proceeds from three properties that he had sold for S$7.5 million. It is now frozen in On's ING Bank account in Hong Kong.
The NKF has added On as a defendant in its lawsuit against Yong and other ex-NKF directors, making her liable as well to pay for the $12 million in damages which the charity is seeking.
However, On said recently in an affidavit filed by her lawyer in Singapore's High Court that just $1 million of the money transferred to her belongs to her husband.
If convicted in Hong Kong, she faces up to 14 years' jail in the territory, and a fine of up to HK$5 million.
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