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THE Kuala Lumpur High Court has dismissed appeals by two former officers of Jalatama Management Sdn Bhd, affirming their convictions and sentences for conducting unlicensed capital market activities involving futures and derivatives trading.
Su Eng Kooi and Yap Choong Seong were seeking to overturn their 2022 convictions by the Sessions Court for carrying on a business in regulated capital market activities without a licence.
The High Court today upheld both the guilty verdicts and the penalties imposed, which comprise one year’s imprisonment and a RM1 million fine for each of the two charges, with a further one-year custodial term in default of payment.
The appellants were initially charged on 5 July 2017 under Section 58(1) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, read together with Section 367(1) of the same Act.
The charges stemmed from the conduct of Jalatama Management Sdn Bhd in trading futures contracts and dealing in derivatives without holding a Capital Markets Services Licence.
Both men, who were officers of the company at the material time, were deemed to have committed the offences between July 2011 and September 2013.
After a full trial, the Sessions Court found them guilty and convicted them on 12 December 2022. They subsequently lodged appeals to the High Court challenging both conviction and sentence.
In dismissing the appeals, the High Court ruled that there were no errors of law or fact on the part of the Sessions Court judge and that the convictions were sound.
The court also agreed with submissions by the Securities Commission Malaysia that the sentences imposed were not manifestly excessive so as to justify appellate intervention.
Prior to the appeal hearing, the appellants had filed an application for a stay of proceedings, which was also dismissed.
However, following the ruling today, the High Court granted a stay of execution of the sentences pending the appellants’ final appeal to the Court of Appeal.
In a statement issued at 6pm on Friday, the Securities Commission Malaysia said it viewed the judgment positively, emphasising that dealing in derivatives is a regulated activity and that any person conducting business in regulated capital market activities must obtain a licence under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.
The Securities Commission Malaysia was represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Annarina Chacko Jacob and prosecuting officers Mohd Shafiq Azman, Mark Rohan Mahadevan and Danial Imran bin Nasaruddin. - February 20, 2026
