SINGAPORE: A man received a jail sentence of two months and two weeks on Monday (March 9) for committing bigamy. He had traveled to the United States in 2017 in order to marry another woman, even though he had not divorced his wife.
The woman he married in the US, who had been aware that the man she was marrying was still legally wed, reported him to the authorities for bigamy last year, when their relationship went awry.
Fifty-eight-year-old Ong Hiap Leong entered a guilty plea to conspiring to wed while his marriage was still in force. His defence lawyer asked for a jail sentence of one month, as well as a S$5,000 fine. The prosecution, however, asked for three to four months of jail time. He will begin his jail sentence next week, as he was allowed by the judge to defer serving it.
Ong married his first wife, Lim Li Ying, in 1992. The couple shares two children.
He met the second woman, Loh Wai Han, in 2003, and the two became romantically involved and later wanted to get married. However, as Ong was married to Ms Lim, they could not legally get married in Singapore.
In 2017, however, the two travelled to Las Vegas, known as the “marriage capital of the world.” After registering a civil marriage there, they went home to Singapore, where they continued their relationship, although Ong still lived with Ms Lim.
When the relationship between Ong and Ms Loh began to go south, Ms Loh reported her partner’s bigamy to the authorities in June 2025, and an investigation was commenced immediately.
Ong finally told Ms Lim about Ms Loh on Aug 31. In October, the marriage between Ong and Ms Loh was declared to be null and void in Las Vegas county where they married. He was arrested in the same month.
Ong is still married to Ms Lim. His wife and children have forgiven him, and his family has extended their support to him to the point that his wife asked to plead leniency on his behalf, which the judge on the case did not allow, saying this would not be relevant.
Ms Loh, 45, has also been charged with bigamy, according to CNA.
Loh, a Singaporean woman now aged 45, also has a charge pending against her for the same offence. For the offence of bigamy in Singapore, a person found guilty may be jailed for a maximum of seven years and be made to pay a fine. /TISG
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