Singapore former oil tycoon OK Lim’s bail extended by one day

A spokesperson for the State Courts said the extension was granted after Lim’s counsel filed an application to postpone the start of his jail term.

“The Court has directed that the appellant’s bail be extended until 3 p.m. on April 2, 2026,” the spokesperson told The Straits Times. Lim is required to surrender at the State Courts by that time.

The former tycoon had initially been due to begin serving his sentence on Wednesday. However, he was hospitalized late last week after being found “disoriented in the study, mumbling he has difficulty breathing,” his son Evan Lim said on Monday.

Lim Oon Kuin, popularly known as OK Lim, was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison in November 2024 after being convicted on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery, The Business Times reported.

The court found that he had deceived HSBC through employees at his oil trading firm Hin Leong by claiming the company had secured two oil sale deals with China Aviation Oil (Singapore) and Unipec Singapore. These fabricated contracts were then used to apply for discounting from HSBC, which then disbursed US$111.6 million to Hin Leong.

Lim’s jail term was later reduced by four years after the High Court allowed his appeal in early March, with the former tycoon out on bail of S$4 million (US$3.1 million).

During the appeal, Justice Hoo Sheau Peng described the original sentence as “crushing,” even after factoring in the usual one-third remission.

While she rejected Lim’s call for the court to exercise judicial mercy, she found that the sentencing judge had erred in accepting the prosecution’s claim that the former tycoon’s actions had damaged public confidence in the oil industry.

She also reduced his sentence in consideration of the substantial restitution made and his advanced age.