The suspect behind the death of Singaporean Audrey Fang, who disappeared while on holiday in Spain, has been identified as Mitchell Ong, reported Spanish media La Verdad.

Ong, a 43-year-old Singapore citizen, appeared in Spanish court for his suspected involvement in the case at 9:20am Spain time, or 3:20pm Singapore time, on Apr. 19.

Previously, only his age had been revealed.

A spokesperson for the Civil Guard, a Spanish national police force, earlier told The Straits Times that he might have been in a romantic relationship with Fang.

“We are still investigating the motive for this killing. There are various possible motives, which could be economic or a case of domestic violence," she said.

According to La Versad, Ong is "large and muscular", who dressed in expensive clothes, stayed in luxury hotels, and rented high-end cars.

On his Instagram account, Ong describes himself as 1.88m, "nice", and a "power Asian", posting frequently about his gym activities.

He had allegedly known Fang for years.

Went missing

Fang, 39, had been on holiday in Spain when she went missing on Apr. 9.

Her family filed a police report and contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when she proved unreachable from Apr. 10.

While her body was found on Apr. 10, allegedly with 30 stab wounds, it took around a week to confirm her identity.

She was apparently not identified until Apr. 18 — in part due to the lack of personal artefacts near her.

Her body had been found some 150km from where she was last seen, Spanish media reported.

Authorities initially suspected that she was a sex worker as she was not far from two spots of sex work.

Her identity only came to light after social media posts about her disappearances, which appeared to have tipped investigators off.

Her suspected killer, Ong, was seen in Spanish court on Apr. 19 after he was traced via a car he was renting.

He was arrested on Apr. 16 in Alicante, La Verdad reported.

Fang's brother and two other relatives also attended the hearing in Cieza, together with an interpreter.

The family's lawyer has asked that Ong be sent to prison ahead of the trial.

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Top photo from Instagram and Fang Dirou/Facebook