SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man who secretly registered a second marriage in the United States while still legally married in Singapore has been sentenced to two months and two weeks in jail.
Ong Hiap Leong, 58, travelled to Las Vegas with his female partner in 2017 and registered a civil marriage there despite still being legally married to his first wife in Singapore. The case came to light only years later, when the relationship with his second wife broke down.
Ong pleaded guilty to conspiring with Loh Wai Han, a 45-year-old Singaporean woman, to marry while his earlier marriage remained in force. Loh still faces a pending charge for the same offence. Court documents show Ong first married his wife, a woman surnamed Lim, in 1992. The couple remains legally married and has two children.
According to a Channel NewsAsia (CNA) report, Ong met Loh in 2003. Although Loh was aware that Ong was already married, their relationship became romantic over time, and the pair later agreed to marry.
In March 2017, they travelled to Las Vegas, United States, and registered a civil marriage in Nevada. The marriage took place about 25 years after Ong’s first wedding, which had never been dissolved. Both parties knew that Ong’s first wife was still alive and that the original marriage remained legally valid.
After returning to Singapore, Ong continued living with his first wife. At the same time, he maintained contact with Loh and met her occasionally.
The relationship between Ong and Loh later deteriorated. In June 2025, roughly eight and a half years after their wedding in Nevada, Loh filed a police report accusing Ong of bigamy. The report triggered investigations on the same day. Ong informed his first wife about the second marriage on Aug 31, 2025. It was the first time she had heard about it.
Soon after, a court in Clark County, Nevada, declared the second marriage invalid. The annulment took place in early October 2025. Ong was then arrested later that same month. During sentencing, prosecutors asked the court to impose a jail term of three to four months.
Defence lawyer Ganesan Nachiappan from DL Law argued for a lighter sentence of one month in jail and a S$5,000 fine. He told the court his client admitted guilt early and had already taken steps to cancel the second marriage. The lawyer also said Loh knew about Ong’s first marriage from the start, meaning the second relationship did not involve misleading her.
However, the prosecution pointed out that Ong’s first wife had been kept in the dark for years, indicating that deception continued.
Ong’s wife and their two children submitted written statements saying they had forgiven him. The defence said his family continued to support him, and his wife even attended the hearing, hoping to plead for leniency. The judge declined to hear from her, saying such appeals would not affect the legal assessment of the case.
In delivering the sentence, the court stressed that bigamy is treated seriously under Singapore law. The judge said such offences can be difficult to detect and may remain hidden unless someone reports them. In this case, the offence surfaced only after Loh lodged a police report. The court also noted that Ong did not take action to resolve the second marriage for years.
The judge allowed Ong to defer his sentence for a week before he serves his jail term. Marriages registered overseas still carry legal consequences in Singapore when a prior marriage remains valid. Bigamy cases carry a maximum penalty of seven years’ jail and a fine.
