SC charges former directors for causing wrongful loss to Patimas Computers Bhd

• Said to have made payments totalling US$1.24mil in 2010 for purported development of various software
• First time SC taking criminal action under section 317A(1) of Capital Markets and Services Act 2007

 
DETERMINED to weed out poor corporate governance and make those guilty of such crimes, accountable for their past actions, Malaysia’s Securities Commission (SC) has been gone into overdrive mode this year.
 
And on Thursday, some tech executives felt its heat with the SC charging a former managing director and three former executive directors of Patimas Computers Bhd (Patimas) with ten charges of causing wrongful loss to the company.
 
Law Siew Ngoh, 55, a former MD, Yap Wee Hin, 58, a former deputy executive chairman, Robert Daniel Tan Kim Leng, 59, and Ng Back Heang, 62, both former executive directors of Patimas are said to have made payments totalling US$1.24 million (RM5.1 million between July 2010 to December 2010, for the purported development of various software for Patimas when in fact they were not used for such purpose.
 
The charges were read out before Sessions Court Judge Zaman Mohd Noor. All four claimed trial to the charges. Law, Yap, Tan and Ng were imposed a bail of RM200,000 with one surety and ordered to surrender their passports.
 
This is the first time the SC is taking a criminal action for an offence under section 317A(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. Under this section, an officer of a listed corporation or any of its related corporation, commits an offence if he does anything or cause anyone to do anything with the intention of causing wrongful loss to the listed corporation or its related corporation.
 
At the material time, the offence was punishable with an imprisonment term not exceeding ten years and a fine not exceeding RM10 million.