Insider trading: Former CEO gets five years in jail, fined RM5m

KUALA LUMPUR: A former chief executive officer of a rubber glove manufacturing company, APL Industries Berhad (Apli), was sentenced to five years' jail and fined RM5 million by the sessions court here today, after being found guilty of communicating confidential information on the company's share value, 10 years ago.
Judge Zulqarnain Hassan meted out the sentence against Datuk Seri Thai Kim Sim, 57, after finding that the defence failed to raise any reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case.
The court also sentenced Tiong Kiong Choon, 57, a former remisier, to a five-year jail term and RM10 million fine, after being found guilty of two counts of disposing of 6.2 million of Apli's shares.
Thai and Tiong were also ordered to serve another two years in jail each if they failed to pay the fine.
The court allowed a stay of execution for the jail-term against both the accused pending appeal, but the payment of fine was not allowed to be delayed.
During the sentencing, Judge Zulqarnain said the offence, known as insider trading was a modern white collar crime.
"This a serious crime and is in a class of its own because not everyone can be a player on the stock market," he said.
Thai was charged with communicating to Tiong a non-public information on the value of Apli's shares on Oct 26 and 29, 2007, while Tiong was charged with disposing of 2,205,500 and 4,003,000 units of Apli shares from the Central Depository System account of two individuals, while in possession of the same non-public information, hence affecting the value of shares.
He committed the offences at Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, Exchange Square, Bukit Kewangan, on Oct 26 and Oct 29, 2007.
They were charged under Section 188 (3) (a) and 188 (2) (a) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of not less than RM1 million.
The prosecution was carried out by Malaysian Securities Commission prosecution officer T. Chelvakumar, while Thai was represented by lawyer Datuk K. Kumaraendran, and counsel Chong Loong Men acted on behalf of Tiong. — Bernama