Lim Oon Kuin, the Singapore tycoon whose giant oil trading and tanker empire collapsed in 2020, pleaded not guilty as the first three of the more than 120 fraud charges he faces went to trial on Tuesday.

Wheelchair-bound, and appearing very frail, the 81-year-old founder of Hin Leong Trading, Xihe Group and affiliated Ocean Tankers, was unable to stand as prosecutors brought forward two charges of cheating HSBC Bank out of $111.7m