KUALA LUMPUR: A businessman was sentenced to one day in jail and fined RM400,000 for allowing his friend to dispose of more than 14 million shares in a local furniture manufacturer in his central depository system (CDS) account some 18 years ago.
Sessions Court judge Azman Ahmad handed down the sentence on Siow Chung Peng, 52, after he changed his plea and pleaded guilty to an alternative charge during the defence trial.Siow was ordered to serve the prison sentence yesterday. He paid the fine.
In delivering the decision, Azman said three judges had heard the case which lasted more than 10 years, and all evidence presented in court had been returned to the prosecution.
“The prosecution and the defence have managed to resolve this case satisfactorily and create a win-win situation for all parties,” he said.
According to the charge, Siow, as the beneficial owner of the CDS account at OSK Securities Bhd, allegedly allowed Goh Hock Choy, 60, who is not an authorised nominee for the account, to dispose of 14,683,200 units of Lii Hen Industries Bhd in the account.
In doing so, Siow had breached Section 29A of the Securities Industries (Central Depositories) Act 1991, which states that all dealings in respect of deposited securities shall only be effected by the beneficial owners of such deposited securities or an authorised nominee.
He was charged with committing the offence, which is punishable under Section 51 of the same law, at Bursa Malaysia Sekuriti Bhd, 14th Floor, Exchange Square, Bukit Kewangan here, between July 2, 2004 and Nov 2, 2004.
The offence provides a maximum fine of RM1mil or a jail term of up to five years, or both.
Deputy public prosecutor from the Securities Commission (SC) Izuddin Mohamad told the court that both parties had reached an agreement on the charges and sentence under Section 172C of the Criminal Procedure Code after the accused sent a representation to the SC.
“Accordingly, the prosecution has prepared a document on the disposal of the case that contains the terms that have been agreed upon by both parties,” he said.
Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad represented Siow. — Bernama
