M
Masamune Date
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Jan 6, 2011
Former Airocean directors found guilty of misleading
By Jonathan Kwok
Johnson Chong (centre), the former chief operating officer of the air cargo firm, and independent directors Ong Seow Yong (right) and Peter Madhavan (left) will likely be sentenced on Jan 20. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
THREE former Airocean directors were convicted on Thursday of making a 'misleading' announcement to the Singapore Exchange.
Johnson Chong, the former chief operating officer of the air cargo firm, and independent directors Ong Seow Yong and Peter Madhavan will likely be sentenced on Jan 20.
Madhavan and Chong were also convicted of consenting to the company's 'reckless failure' to disclose relevant information, while Chong was also found guilty of three charges of insider trading.
They could be fined up to $250,000 or jailed for seven years for each of the offences and barred from being company directors.
The misleading SGX announcement was made in November, 2005, after The Straits Times reported that then-chief executive Thomas Tay was being investigated by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
Airocean's board told the SGX that the probe was related to practices 'in some other companies in the air cargo industry' and that Tay was not implicated.
But Tay was later convicted of attempted bribery. The directors who made the announcement were then charged under the Securities and Futures Act.
