Former UN General Assembly president John Ashe of the twin-island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda died on Wednesday in the United States as he was facing criminal charges in a bribery case involving Macau billionaire Ng Lap Seng.
He was 61.
Ashe died at his home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, according to Sergeant Vincent Ingani, of the Dobbs Ferry Police Department. He gave no other details.
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Current UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft confirmed his death, saying Ashe died of a heart attack.
“Despite the many as yet unproven accusations made against him, Mr Ashe was for many years a hard-working and popular member of the diplomatic corps in New York and at the United Nations,” Lykketoft said in a statement. “I know that his death will come as sad news to the many professional friends and colleagues he made during his time here.”
Ng Lap Seng, chairman of the Sun Kian IP Group Foundation, has been accused of bribing John Ashe and others. Photo: Reuters
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Ashe was a former UN ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who served in the largely ceremonial post of president of the 193-nation assembly from September 2013 to September 2014.
