The Securities Commission Malaysia had successfully proven its claim in a civil suit against Dato’ Ng Back Heang, a former executive director of Patimas Computers Berhad for insider trading. Ng, 68, was ordered to pay to the SC a sum of RM1.24 million which is three times the losses he avoided as a result of the insider trading.
Ng was also ordered to pay a civil penalty of RM700,000 to the SC and will be barred from being appointed as a director of a public listed company for five years. The High Court also granted the SC RM100,000 in costs.
The breach occurred when Ng disposed 16.5 million Patimas shares that he owned between May to July 2012, while in possession of material non-public information. The said information was in relation to audit queries and issues about suspicious transactions between Patimas and its top debtors. Insider trading continues to be a high priority for the SC.
This is the second successful claim by the SC against a former director of Patimas for insider trading. In April this year, the SC’s civil claim against the former Deputy Chairman of Patimas, Datuk Raymond Yap Wee Hin, was allowed and the High Court ordered Yap to pay to the SC a sum of RM3.28 million, which was three times the loss avoided by him as a result of insider trading activities, as well as a civil penalty of RM1 million.
