Roger Ng Seeks Leniency In IMDB Case Sentencing, Claims Time In M’sian Prison Was ‘Absolute Hell’

By Lara Alkhateri  •  28 Feb 2023 in News

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For his role in the theft of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng is appealing for clemency when he is sentenced in the US next week.

Via a court document, Ng claimed he was forced to sleep on a cement floor and lived with rats in the “absolute hell” of Sungai Buloh prison, where he also allegedly contracted leptospirosis and malaria.

In a letter to US District Judge Margo Brodie in which he discussed his prior incarceration, he also stated  that he had spent six months in a “filthy Malaysian prison” where he was occasionally chained to as many as 20 other prisoners, and was held in solitary confinement for an entire fortnight.

Ng maintained that his time in Malaysia’s Sungai Buloh prison prior to his extradition to the US in May 2019 served as adequate punishment for his offences, and thus requested that Brodie sentence him with no further prison term in the US.

“I’ve remained socially reclusive to this day as I continue to process this gruesome and upsetting experience. I lost my sanity and became terrified during the time spent alone without sunlight,” he asserted.

Ng was convicted of three felony charges, including conspiring to break US anti-bribery statutes and conspiracy to launder money, by a federal jury in April. Tim Leissner, Ng’s former Goldman boss, entered a guilty plea and testified as the main prosecution witness. September will see Leissner’s sentencing.

The highest penalty in US history for a breach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was payable by Goldman as part of a plea agreement. According to South China Morning Post, it totalled more than RM10.3 billion.