SINGAPORE: John Soh Chee Wen (pic), whose passport has been impounded by the Singapore authorities since 2014, had tried to flee the island state by boat but failed because of a motor malfunction.

This was alleged by prosecutors when asking that bail be denied to Soh after he was charged with 181 securities offences under the Securities and Futures Act last Friday.

Prosecutors said Soh, 56, had in the past also travelled with an Indonesian passport in the name of Didi Supardi and was therefore a flight risk.

They also said that Soh’s ex-girlfriend Cheng Jo-Ee said that Soh told her he was planning to leave Singapore even though his passport had been impounded by the commercial affairs department.

The court did not make a final decision on bail as Soh’s lawyers said they needed time to go through the voluminous documents submitted by the prosecutors. Soh, who was already in police remand, will know on Dec 20 if he will be released on bail.

Fellow Malaysian and Singapore permanent resident Quah Su-Ling, 52, who faces 178 charges, including six of cheating involving more than S$170 million, was released on a S$4 million (RM12.4 million) bail.

The two, who prosecutors said were in an intimate relationship, were accused of being the masterminds behind the largest stock manipulation ever in Singapore.

They were alleged to have used trading accounts of 59 individuals and corporate nominees at 20 brokerages. The three stocks that they were accused of manipulating are LionGold Corp Ltd, Asiansons Capital Ltd (which has been renamed Attilan Group Ltd) and Blumont Group Ltd, which had surged up to 800% before collapsing in three days in Singapore’s October 2013 penny stock crash — wiping out S$8 billion in market capitalisation.

Finally, after two years of investigation, they were charged last Friday together with Goh Hin Calm, who was accused of abetting Soh and Quah.

Goh is accused of acting as a “key assistant” by helping them manage their bank and trading accounts used to manipulate shares. Goh faces six charges under the Securities and Futures Act.