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THE Court of Appeal has affirmed the High Court’s decision holding former Patimas Computers Berhad Executive Director, Datuk Ng Back Heang, liable for insider trading under Section 188(2)(a) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA).
Delivering a unanimous decision on Tuesday, Justices Datuk Ravinthran a/l N. Paramaguru, Dato’ Dr. Choo Kah Sing and Dato’ Nadzarin Wok Nordin dismissed Ng’s appeal with RM30,000 in costs awarded to the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). The court upheld all orders made by the High Court in 2022.
Under those orders, Ng must pay RM1.24 million in disgorgement to the SC—an amount equivalent to three times the losses he avoided through insider trading—and a civil penalty of RM700,000.
He is also disqualified from serving as a director of any publicly listed company for five years, beginning from 17 November 2022, the date of the original judgment, SC said in a statement today.
The SC was also awarded RM100,000 in legal costs by the High Court.
The case centres on Ng’s disposal of 16.5 million Patimas shares between May and July 2012 while he was in possession of material non-public information.
That information related to unresolved audit queries and questionable transactions between Patimas and its major debtors, which had been raised by the company’s external auditor during internal discussions.
On 31 July 2012, Patimas announced to Bursa Malaysia that it would be unable to issue its Annual Audited Financial Statements for the financial period spanning 1 January 2011 to 31 March 2012, citing unresolved significant audit findings.
Ng was represented in court by Dato’ Jasbeer Singh, while the SC’s legal team comprised Mohd Hafiz Mohd Yusoff, Mageswary Karroppiah, and Eunice Ong Jo Xing, along with external counsel appointed by the Commission.
In a statement following the ruling, the SC reiterated its stance on the gravity of insider trading, stating that it undermines market integrity and weakens investor confidence.
“The decision of the Court of Appeal today sends a clear message that such breaches will not be tolerated by the SC or the courts,” SC said. - Sept 2, 2025
