Singapore, Dec 4 (IANS): Two key suspects in a major corruption case were arrested in Malaysia on Tuesday after 19 years on the run, Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said on Wednesday.

The case involves about $51.2 million, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting Singapore's news network CNA.

Ng Teck Lee, 58, former CEO of electronics recycling firm Citiraya, and his wife, Thor Chwee Hwa, 55, were apprehended by Malaysian authorities and handed over to the CPIB on the same day.

The couple fled Singapore in 2005 when the CPIB began investigating the case.

Ng faces a charge of criminal breach of trust for misappropriating electronic scrap materials entrusted to Citiraya. He allegedly directed employees not to crush the materials but instead to repackage and export them. Thor faces charges for assisting in concealing the proceeds of Ng's criminal activities.

CPIB investigations into the case remain ongoing.