S'porean man, 58, secretly weds 2nd wife, gets 2 months & 2 weeks' jail after she reports him to the police

A 58-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to two months and two weeks' jail after he secretly married another woman in the United States, while still legally married to his first wife.

According to court documents, Ong Hiap Leong's second wife, Loh Wai Han, had reported his offence to the police when their relationship of more than eight years later became strained.

Travelled to U.S. to register second marriage

Ong has two children with his first wife, surnamed Lim, whom he married in 1992.

He had gotten acquainted with Loh sometime in 2003.

The pair later entered into a romantic relationship, with Loh aware of the man's marital status.

Unable to register a marriage in Singapore as Ong was still legally married to Lim, the couple travelled to Las Vegas, Nevada in the U.S. in 2017.

They registered a civil marriage there on Mar. 31, 2017.

The pair continued to meet each other after returning to Singapore, as Ong continued living with his first wife.

However, his relationship with Loh later became estranged.

She eventually lodged a police report against Ong on Jun. 9, 2025 for bigamy, triggering investigations.

The couple had been together for more than eight years at the time.

Only told first wife of other marriage after investigations started

Ong only told Lim about his marriage to Loh in August 2025, almost three months after police investigations began and two days before police were scheduled to interview her.

His second marriage had lasted nearly eight-and-a-half years by then.

Ong also tried to annul the marriage, though only after investigations had begun.

On Oct. 9, 2025, the second marriage was declared null and void by the District Court of Clark County, Nevada.

Under Singapore law, the second marriage was void because it took place while Ong's first wife was still alive and their marriage had not been dissolved or declared void by a court.

He was arrested on Oct. 22, 2025 and later released on agency bail the same day.

The prosecution initially sought for a jail term of between three to four months.

Lim had also filed statutory declarations with their two children indicating that they had forgiven Ong.

While forgiveness is not a mitigating factor, prosecutors said it suggested a lesser degree of harm caused to the family and could justify some reduction in sentence.

According to CNA, Ong was granted a deferment for his jail term and allowed to serve it starting from the second week of March 2026.

In Singapore, those found guilty of bigamy may be jailed for up to seven years and fined.

Top photo via Canva