Singapore, 25 November 2019…Mr Joseph Chai Ming Leong (Mr Chai) was today convicted and sentenced to 4 weeks’ imprisonment for furnishing a false statement to Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Limited (SGX-DT). His conviction was a result of a joint investigation conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force.

2 Mr Chai was charged under section 330(1)(a) of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA)The offences under section 330(1)(a) of the SFA were by way of a conspiracy punishable under section 109 of the Penal Code (PC). for conspiring with Mr Jimmy Ng Kian Bin (Mr Jimmy Ng) and Mr Erik Ng Song Hann (Mr Erik Ng)Mr Jimmy Ng and Mr Erik Ng were convicted and sentenced on 7 October 2019. Please refer to the link for the media release on their convictions. to furnish a false statement to SGX-DT on or around 28 July 2015.

3 At the material time, Mr Chai and Mr Erik Ng were directors of Joerik Financial Pte Ltd (Joerik), a proprietary trading company and an SGX-DT trading member. Mr Jimmy Ng was a trader of Joerik. 

4 On 24 and 27 July 2015, Mr Jimmy Ng repeatedly entered and deleted a series of buy and sell orders for SGX MSCI Singapore Index July 2015 Futures Contracts (SGN15)SGN15 was a futures contract listed on SGX-DT whose underlying instrument was the MSCI Singapore Free Index, a free float-adjusted and market capitalization-weighted index of large and medium capitalization stocks traded on the Singapore Exchange with contract month ending in July 2015. which he had no intention to fill.  This created the illusion of buying or selling interest in SGN15 and induced other market participants to trade against him on the opposite side of his fictitious orders, at prices that were more favourable to him. Mr Jimmy Ng had thereby employed a scheme to defraud these market participants with the fictitious orders.

5 On 27 July 2015, SGX-DT sent a query to Joerik’s broker to enquire about Mr Jimmy Ng’s trading activities in SGN15. Mr Chai discussed with Mr Erik Ng and Mr Jimmy Ng on how to reply to SGX-DT to cover up for Mr Jimmy Ng.  On 28 July 2015, Mr Chai sent a reply to SGX-DT through Joerik’s broker, claiming that Mr Jimmy Ng was conducting algorithm trading in SGN15, and that Mr Jimmy Ng had intended to fill the fictitious buy and sell orders.  Mr Chai had thereby furnished a false statement to SGX-DT with the intent to deceive it about Mr Jimmy Ng’s trading activities in SGN15.

6 Mr Chai pleaded guilty and was convicted on the charge, and was sentenced to 4 weeks’ imprisonment. A further charge for conspiring with Mr Erik Ng to furnish a false statement to SGX-DT on another occasion was taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing.

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Notes  

(A) Section 330 (1)(a) of the SFA (Cap 289) at the time of the offences
Under section 330(1)(a) of the SFA, any person who, with intent to deceive, makes or furnishes, or knowingly and wilfully authorises or permits the making or furnishing of, any false or misleading statement or report to any securities exchange, futures exchange, licensed trade repository, approved clearing house or recognised clearing house or any officers thereof relating to dealing in securities, trading in futures contracts, foreign exchange trading or leveraged foreign exchange trading, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

(B) Section 109 of the Penal Code (Cap 224)
Section 109 of the Penal Code provides that whoever abets any offence shall, if the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, and no express provision is made by the Penal Code for the punishment of such abetment, be punished with the punishment provided for the offence.