Former S'pore oil tycoon OK Lim taken into custody at hospital to begin 13.5-year jail sentence

Former oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was taken into custody at Gleneagles Hospital on Apr. 2 to begin his jail sentence of 13.5 years.

Was expected to be discharged from hospital on Apr. 2

He had been taken to hospital on Mar. 28, three days before he was originally set to begin his prison sentence on Apr. 1.

Lim's son, Evan Lim Chee Meng, said the older man had breathing difficulties and was disoriented.

According to the judiciary, Lim was expected to be discharged from hospital on Apr. 2, CNA reported.

His legal counsel had also submitted an application to defer the commencement of his sentence from Apr. 1 to Apr. 2, which the prosecution did not object to.

The court gave an extension of his S$4 million bail until Apr. 2, 3pm.

However, as Lim was not discharged from hospital by 12pm, he was required to surrender at Gleneagles Hospital instead, the judiciary added.

Prison sentence was cut

The founder of the collapsed oil trading firm Hin Leong Trading, Lim, was originally sentenced in November 2024 to 17.5 years in prison over a cheating case involving at least S$150 million.

He appealed against his conviction and sentence, and the latter was allowed on Mar. 4, 2026.

His sentence was reduced to 13.5 years.

The High Court judge said that the original sentence, when considering his age and the fact that he was unlikely to reoffend, was crushing, even with remission.

Lim's lawyer requested a medical appointment for the ex-tycoon as he had a fall late in 2025, and now has difficulty focusing visually.

The lawyer also called for judicial mercy to be exercised, citing the case of Ong Beng Seng, who has advanced multiple myeloma.

The judge, however, said Lim's case was not an exceptional one to warrant judicial mercy as Ong's was, and that the prisons would make arrangements to manage his fall risk.

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