Roger Ng of 1MDB Infamy Says Malaysian Prison Was Hell

Roger Ng, the former and only Goldman Sachs banker to be convicted in the 1MDB case, implored the New York court that has been hearing his case to not put him back in prison. He is currently facing 30 years after being found guilty of conspiring to launder money and two anti-bribery violation charges.

In a report by Reuters on Feb. 25, Roger Ng’s lawyers asked to spare him further time in jail as he has already spent six months behind bars in Malaysia. He described his incarceration in Sungai Buloh Prison, the biggest prison complex in the country, as “absolute hell” according to a separate report from the New York Post on Feb. 28. He is due in court on March 9 for sentencing, with United States District Judge Margo Brodie tasked to overlook the hearing.

“Until today, I find myself reclusive socially as I continue to deal with this brutal and distressing experience. The time without sunlight and in isolation made me lose my mind and become frightful,” he said as quoted in a court filing.

His prison experience in Malaysia also included being forced to sleep on the floor, locked in a windowless cell that had no plumbing and was always damp, and living with vermin.

Roger Ng was the former head of Goldman Sachs in Malaysia who played a role in embezzling funds looted from the state’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. The scheme was purported to have stolen US$4.5 billion, with the U.S. Department of Justice calling it the “biggest kleptocracy case to date” in 2016.