PETALING JAYA: The ex-girlfriend of a man accused of murdering Singaporean Audrey Fang in Spain testified that the suspect, Mitchell Ong, displayed aggressive behaviour and had ongoing financial struggles.

Ong was arrested on April 16 in Alicante, Spain, following the discovery of Audrey’s body on April 10.

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She was found with 30 stab wounds near a truck parking lot in Abanilla, about 150km from her hotel.

In a court hearing via video link from Kyiv, Ong’s ex-girlfriend, a Ukrainian woman, described meeting him just days after the murder, Channel News Asia reported.

She noted he had unexplained “injuries” on his knees.

She mentioned she met him in 2021 at a Brussels nightclub and began a relationship, though it had several “interruptions.”

She testified that Ong frequently visited her in Alicante throughout 2022, and despite their breakup in September, he continued sending her gifts and persistently harassed her, pleading for reconciliation, which led her to seek support from her friends for protection.

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She explained that he had arranged for them to stay in Alicante in April, though she was unaware he had booked the hotel in her name. She also testified that she didn’t know about Audrey or that Ong had been married since 2012.

CCTV footage captured Ong arriving in Alicante on April 3, earlier than he had claimed, citing a meeting with friends in Barcelona.

The suspect was apprehended on April 16 after security footage showed him picking the victim up from her hotel.

During their time in Alicante, Ong’s ex-girlfriend described him as “aggressive” and prone to throwing “tantrums,“ including an instance where he threw a chair at her.

According to her court testimony, she had arrived in Spain on April 12 but left their shared hotel room five days later because she felt “afraid”.

She also mentioned that he acted strangely while they were in Alicante, telling her she should “be happy” he was still “normal” after what he had “done.”

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The ex-girlfriend recalled Ong admitting in September that he was facing financial pressure, with some people demanding payment.

He assured her he would soon “get a lot of money” and resolve his debt, claiming that within two months he would buy a house in Alicante.

According to the ex-girlfriend, Ong informed her during their time together in April that he expected to receive a large sum of money “within two months” and planned to purchase a house in Alicante.

Despite his claimed financial issues, she observed that he maintained a “high standard of living.”

It was previously reported that Audrey’s brother, Benjamin Fang, confirmed she had nominated Ong as the beneficiary of her Central Provident Fund (CPF).

Around the time of the nomination, close to S$200,000 (about RM697,766) was deposited into her CPF account, according to Audrey’s family lawyer, Manuel Martinez.

Two close friends of Audrey testified in court that she had a romantic interest in Ong, but he appeared solely interested in selling her financial assets.

Lawyer Martinez, indicated that Spanish authorities are investigating a potential financial motive behind the murder.