SINGAPORE, April 4 -- Former oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin, better known as OK Lim, has been taken into custody from a Singapore hospital to begin serving a 13½-year jail term, after failing to surrender in court as scheduled, according to CNA.

The 84-year-old was detained at Gleneagles Hospital on Thursday, after he did not appear at the State Courts on Wednesday to start his sentence. He had reportedly been hospitalised days earlier.

Lim's sentence had been reduced on appeal from 17½ years, with a High Court judge describing the original punishment as "crushing" given his age and the likelihood he would not reoffend.

The Singapore-based media organisation reported that Lim's lawyer applied on April 1 to defer the start of the jai...