In passing the sentence, Judge Komathy SM Suppiah said “The Court has to set imprisonment terms as the new benchmark in securities cases. The securities market should be real and genuine. Market manipulation is a serious offence affecting the confidence of investors and thus imprisonment sentence should be meted out.”
On 7 January 2011, Datuk Phillip, 48, and Francis Bun Lit Chun, 41, were convicted under section 84(1) of the Securities Industry Act 1983 (SIA) for creating a misleading appearance of active trading in the shares of Suremax by trading in nine accounts without any change in the beneficial ownership of the shares on the stock exchange. They had been charged on 25 October 2005 with 38 witnesses being called by the prosecution. Both accused testified when the defence was called.
The SC will take whatever action necessary to protect investors and to maintain a fair and orderly capital market and we will continue to proactively pursue market misconduct cases because such activities severely undermine investor confidence and tarnish the reputation of the Malaysian capital market.
SECURITIES COMMISSION MALAYSIA
