Former Patimas Computers Deputy Chair Upheld Insider Trading Conviction by Court
The Court of Appeal has confirmed the High Court’s insider trading conviction of former Patimas Computers Bhd deputy chairman Datuk Raymond Yap Wee Hin.
The Securities Commission Malaysia announced that the three-member bench of the COA unanimously upheld the High Court’s decision from 2022. The judges, Datuk Ravinthran Paramaguru, Lim Chong Fong, and Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, dismissed Yap’s appeal and ordered him to pay RM3.28 million in disgorgement to the SC. This amount is three times the losses avoided by Yap due to insider trading, as stated by the SC.
Additionally, the COA declared that the SC has the authority to claim a civil penalty of up to RM1 million for the contravention, in line with the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. Yap was directed to pay the maximum penalty. He is also prohibited from serving as a director of any listed company for five years, starting from the High Court judgment on April 7, 2022.
The SC revealed that Yap sold 43.8 million Patimas shares, owned by former managing director Law Siew Ngoh, between June and July 2012 while possessing non-public material information on audit queries and questionable transactions between Patimas and its top debtors. These concerns were discussed by Ernst & Young Malaysia, Patimas’ external auditor, during a meeting with the company’s management.
Subsequently, on July 31, 2012, Patimas’ board of directors declared that the company could not present its annual audited financial statements for the Jan 1, 2011-March 31, 2012 period due to unresolved significant audit findings and queries.
The SC emphasized that insider trading is a severe violation that weakens the integrity of the capital market and diminishes investors’ trust in the stock market. The SC hopes that the Court of Appeal’s decision sends a clear message that such misconduct will not be tolerated by the SC or the courts.
