On 19 January 2023, two men and a woman, aged between 59 and 62, were charged in court with insider trading offences under the Securities and Futures Act (“SFA”) following a joint investigation carried out by the Commercial Affairs Department (“CAD”) of the Singapore Police Force and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Shae Toh Hock, aged 62, was charged with one count of an offence under Section 219(3)(a) of the SFA. He allegedly communicated non-public and material information concerning a proposed acquisition of DuluxGroup Limited (“DuluxGroup”) by Nippon Paint Holdings Co. Ltd (“Nippon Paint Holdings”) (“the Inside Information”) to his sister, Shae Hung Yee, some time between 7 and 12 April 2019, as a Senior Vice President of Corporate Planning and Development at a Nippon Paint Holdings subsidiary in Singapore when DuluxGroup was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Shae Hung Yee, aged 59, and her husband Siew Boon Liong, aged 62, were each charged with one count of an offence under Section 219(2)(a) of the SFA read with Section 109 of the Penal Code. They allegedly conspired to purchase shares of DuluxGroup on the overseas bourse some time between 7 and 12 April 2019, while in possession of the insider information. DuluxGroup only announced the proposed acquisition by Nippon Paint Holdings on 17 April 2019.
Director of CAD, Mr David Chew, said, “In order to preserve the integrity of our financial market, the Police have zero tolerance towards capital markets misconduct offences. In an inter-connected and inter-dependent global financial market, we will work with our foreign counterparts to detect and deter financial criminals wherever they operate. We will not hesitate to take strong action against those involved in insider trading, even where the illicit activities concern securities listed on overseas exchanges. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for their invaluable assistance in this investigation. We will continue to collaborate closely with our foreign law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice.”
If convicted, the three persons each face imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, a fine not exceeding $250,000, or both.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
19 January 2023 @ 12:00 PM