High Court affirms duo’s conviction on Suremax share manipulation

PETALING JAYA: The Kuala Lumpur High Court has dismissed the appeal by Datuk Phillip Wong Chee Kheong and Francis Bun Lit Chun and affirmed their conviction for their involvement in the manipulation of Suremax Group Bhd shares.
In a statement yesterday, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said Wong , 52, and Bun, 43, were found guilty under Section 84 of the Securities Industry Act 1983 for the manipulation of Suremax shares between Nov 24 2004 and March 22, 2005.
They had committed the offence by executing trades in nine accounts that did not involve any change in the beneficial ownership of the said shares, thus creating a misleading appearance of active trading in Suremax shares on Bursa Malaysia.
Both, who testified when their defence was called, were charged on Oct 25, 2005. The prosecution called 38 witnesses.
Justice Kamardin Hashim, in upholding the conviction by the Sessions Court in January 2011, stated that the trial judge did not err when she found that the witnesses called by the prosecution were credible.
He said the trial was conducted fairly and that there was no prejudice to both appellants during the conduct of the trial.
The High Court will determine the sentence to be imposed on March 27, 2014 and ordered that bail be increased to RM500,000 for each appellant while awaiting the outcome of the appeal against their respective sentences.
Wong and Bun face a jail term of up to 10 years each.
The Sessions Court in 2011 sentenced Wong to 24 months' jail and a fine of RM3 million while Bun was sentenced to three months' jail and a fine of RM2 million.
The SC said it views the decision positively given that market manipulation is a serious form of market abuse.
"The SC consistently monitors market abuse activities and will continue to apply its enforcement powers against persons who are found to have violated the law. It reiterates its position that it is committed to pursue the enforcement of such offences to ensure that the integrity of the capital market is preserved," it added.