The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday convicted Fang Siew Yee (Siew Yee) for two offences under the insider trading provisions in the Capital Markets and Services Act (CMSA). Siew Yee had pleaded guilty to two separate charges of communicating inside information and acquiring shares when in possession of the said information. Following her conviction, the court sentenced her to one day imprisonment term and a total fine of RM5 million for both charges.
Siew Yee was found to have communicated the inside information to her uncle, Fong Chiew Hean on 5 September 2009, who subsequently acquired 891,000 of 3A shares. Siew Yee herself also acquired 2,720,000 units of 3A shares through the account of Tan Bee Geok between 27 August 2009 and 5 October 2009.
The inside information relates to the proposed collective venture between the businesses of 3A and Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar) involving a 20% private placement of the issued and paid-up share capital of 3A to Wilmar. At the material time, Siew Yee was the Executive Director of 3A and had represented 3A in a series of meetings and negotiations with Wilmar on the proposed collective venture.
Fong Chiew Hean, Tan Bee Geok and Fang Chew Ham who were charged together with Siew Yee in 2016, had earlier pleaded guilty. More information on these cases can be found here at the SC website.