Former senior bank manager jailed , fined RM1 million for insider trading

KUALA LUMPUR: A former senior manager of a bank was sentenced to six months’ jail and fined RM1 million by the Sessions Court here yesterday on five counts of charges with acquiring 145,000 units of PacificMas Berhad 11 years ago with inside information.

Judge Mahyon Talib handed the sentence on Lim Bun Hwa, 42, who pleaded guilty to all charges.

For all the charges, Bun Hwa was charged, as an insider, with acquiring the shares through the Central Depository account belonging to his brother, Lim Boon Cheng, 48, through information that was not generally available.

The information was on the proposed conditional take– over offer by OSPL Holdings Sdn Bhd to acquire all the voting shares in PacificMas Berhad not already owned by OSPL Holdings Sdn Bhd, whereby with such information, a reasonable person will expect it to have material effect on the price or value of the shares concerned.

Bun Hwa was charged with committing the offences at Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, Exchange Square, Bukit Kewangan here between Dec 18 and 31, 2007.

He was charged under Section 188( 2) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, which provides and imprisonment for up to 10 years and fine of not less than RM1 million, if found guilty.

Earlier, the prosecution, conducted by deputy public prosecutor from the Securities Commission, Hashley Tajudin, informed the court that the accused had submitted a plea bargaining under Section 172C of the Criminal Procedure Code last July.

Bun Hwa, represented by lawyer Datuk Chong Loon Ming, paid the fine. He would serve time at the Kajang Prison. — Bernama