Ex-hospital chief faces SEC rap

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a criminal complaint with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) against Aurchat Kanjanapitak, former managing director of Ramkhamhaeng Hospital Plc, for failing to perform duties responsibly, carefully and honestly.

The market regulator said he sought unlawful gain for himself or other persons causing damage to the company, as well as committed or permitted wrongful acts against hospital documents.

The SEC found that Mr Aurchat, who was responsible for managing Ramkhamhaeng Hospital assets, arranged for the hospital to sell its shares of Kiatnakin Bank Plc in late 2012 to related persons at a price significantly lower than the market price.

The transaction caused damages worth more than 300 million baht. Mr Aurchat also received benefits from other relevant acts, the SEC said.

His action was deemed a violation of Section 89/7 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1992 and subject to penalties prescribed in the second paragraph of Section 281/2, Section 307, Section 311 and Section 313 of the Act. Although he compensated for the damages in December 2014, it was after the SEC probe revealed such wrongdoing.

In addition, Mr Aurchat committed or permitted no record of important information in the notes to financial statements for the year 2012, the first and third quarters of 2013, and the year 2013 in order to avoid revealing the details of his related persons who entered into share-trading transactions with the hospital during 2012-13.

This was in violation of Section 312 of the Securities and Exchange Act. The SEC therefore filed the criminal complaint against Mr Aurchat with the DSI for further legal proceedings. Consequently, he was deemed as having a character unworthy for a director of a publicly held company, and thus automatically barred from serving as a director of any issuing or listed company.