Mitchell Ong, the man suspected of murdering fellow Singaporean Audrey Fang in Spain, has been revealed as a beneficiary of the victim's Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings.

The 43-year-old suspect was arrested six days after Fang's body, riddled with about 30 stab wounds, was found on Apr. 10.

Possible economic motive

According to Spanish news media La Verdad, Fang had named Ong as a beneficiary of her CPF savings.

CPF is a compulsory social security savings scheme for Singaporeans.

It is usually passed on to the person's nominee or nominees when the person dies.

Without any nomination, the Public Trustee's Office will distribute the money to the deceased's family members.

Fang reportedly had up to S$500,000 in her CPF accounts.

In a statement to Mothership, CPF Board said it has not received any requests from the Spanish authorities and had disclosed Fang’s nomination details to her next-of-kin.

"If the CPF Board is informed of any facts or circumstances which may affect the validity of the CPF nomination, an investigation will be conducted by examining the evidence and supporting documents to ascertain the validity of the CPF nomination," the board added.

The CPF Board said it will withhold and not disburse the money in the event a nomination is contested posthumously, and until investigations are completed, the board said.

It added: "If the nomination is found to be invalid, CPF savings will generally be distributed based on an earlier nomination if any, or according to intestacy laws."

CPF left to "trusted confidant"

Previously, investigations uncovered a CPF nomination note on the victim's iPad, which was left in her hotel room.

The note supposedly read: "I want to declare that my decision to name you in my CPF is because you have been a friend for a long time and my trusted confidant."

It also apparently mentioned a "friendly loan" of US$50,000 (S$68,000) given based on "friendship in the past".

Investigators discovered that Ong had thanked Fang for naming him a beneficiary of her CPF money, through a WhatsApp conversation in October 2023.

Fang was also found to have bought two investment-linked insurance policies from Ong in 2015.

Ong was likely working at AIA, an insurance and finance corporation, at the time, according to his now-deleted LinkedIn profile.

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Top images via Mitchell Ong's Instagram and Fang Dirou's Facebook