SC Charges Former Chief Executive Officer and Group Executive Director of APL Industries Berhad for Insider Trading
15 December 2014 | Kuala Lumpur
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today charged three individuals with insider trading offences under Section 188 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.
Stanley Thai Kim Sim, 54, was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court this morning with one count of communicating non-public information between 26 October 2007 and 29 October 2007 to Tiong Kiong Choon (Tiong), a remisier with a stock broking company.
Thai was at the material time, the Chief Executive Officer of APL Industries Bhd (APLI), a company listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd. Tiong was earlier charged by the SC on 9 December 2014 at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for disposing 6,208,500 APLI shares on 26 October 2007 and 29 October 2007 whilst in possession of the non-public information via accounts belonging to his mother-in-law and his mother.
In addition, the SC today also charged Tan Bee Geok, who was at the material time the Group Executive Director of APLI with one count of communicating non public information to her sister, Tan Bee Hong, between 23 October 2007 and 31 October 2007. One charge was also preferred by the SC against Tan Bee Hong for disposing, on 31 October 2007, 350,000 units of APLI shares held in her account while in possession of the same non public information.
Thai, Tan Bee Geok and Tan Bee Hong all claimed trial to the respective charges preferred. Sessions Court judge Abdul Rashid bin Daud fixed bail at RM250,000 for Thai, while bail for Tan Bee Geok and Tan Bee Hong was fixed at 250,000 and 150,000 respectively.
Thai and Bee Geok have been ordered to surrender their international passports to the court on 3rd and 4th February 2015 respectively while Bee Hong’s passport was surrendered to the court today. The case is set for mention on 15 Jan 2015.
The SC alleged that the non-public information referred to in all the charges related to the audit adjustments proposed by APLI’s auditors which resulted in APLI reporting a higher loss amounting to RM21.1 million for the financial year ended 30 June 2007, as compared to the unaudited results of RM4.5 million for the same period. The adjustments also resulted in APLI being designated as a PN 17 company.
The offences carry a punishment of mandatory imprisonment not exceeding 10 years and a fine of not less than RM1 million.
SC’s Director of Enforcement, Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin stated that the abuse of inside information can seriously undermine market integrity and investor confidence. He emphasised that this is an area that the SC will continue to monitor and actively enforce.
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) was established on 1 March 1993 under the Securities Commission Act 1993 (SCA). We are a self-funded statutory body entrusted with the responsibility to regulate and develop the Malaysian capital market.
