NEED TO KNOW
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Lay Ong, 67, was taken into custody after he allegedly touched a 7-year-old boy’s genitalia while they were both guests on a cruise ship
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Prosecutors charged him with abusive sexual contact with a minor three days later in federal court in Florida
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He was convicted after a two-day trial and now faces the possibility of life in prison at his sentencing hearing on Jan. 21, 2026
A Malaysian national could spend the rest of his life in federal prison after being convicted of abusive sexual contact of a minor on a cruise ship.
Lay Ong, 67, was a guest aboard Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas on April 2, when he encountered the victim, 7, and a friend, 9, playing in a hallway outside their room, according to a copy of the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which was obtained by PEOPLE.
The vessel was in international waters at the time, having departed Miami en route to Honduras.
Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty
Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas
A nearby security camera captured a man who appeared to be Ong approaching the two boys and striking up a conversation, according to the complaint.
Over the course of that conversation, the complaint said that the security camera captured Ong touch the 7-year-old’s face and chin.
Then, he allegedly sexually abused the young boy.
“Ong leans forward slightly and extends his left hand, grabbing [the victim’s] genitalia,” the complaint said.
The boy “appears to back away” as soon as he is touched, per the complaint, while Ong just walked away.
Related: Men Accused of Forcing Boy, 14, to Perform Sex Acts in Sauna on Royal Caribbean Cruise
At this point, the victim and eyewitness both went to the room to tell the victim’s mother what had happened according to the complaint, and she in turn contacted security on the ship.
The complaint said that the two boys told the victim’s mother that Ong asked if they were “boys or girls” and after they said “boys,” Ong responded: “Let me check.”
That is when Ong allegedly grabbed the boy’s genitalia.
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The cruise’s security team was able to track down Ong after seeing the footage of the incident, but when they questioned him, he denied the events — claiming he had been “playing” and touched the vcim’s stomach but never his groin.
Despite his denial, prosecutors charged him with abusive sexual contact just a few days later on April 5.
A jury ultimately convicted Ong on that charge after a two-day trial.
“Abusing a child is an unforgivable act,” said Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “This verdict makes clear that anyone who preys on a child—anywhere, and under any flag—will be held to account.”
Ong’s sentencing is set for Jan. 21, 2026.
Read the original article on People
