Ng, 68, was ordered to pay the SC a sum of RM1.24 million which is three times the losses he avoided as a result of the insider trading.

He was also ordered to pay a civil penalty of RM700,000 to the stock exchange regulator, and was barred from being appointed as a director of a public-listed company for five years. The court also granted the SC RM100,000 in costs.

Judicial commissioner Amin Wan Yahya ruled on Nov 16 that Ng had breached Section 188(2)(a) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.

The offence occurred when Ng disposed of 16.5 million Patimas shares he owned between May and July 2012, while in possession of material non-public information.

The said information was in relation to audit queries and issues about suspicious transactions between Patimas and its top debtors.

This was the second successful claim by the SC against a former director of Patimas for insider trading.

In April this year, the SC won its civil claim against former Patimas deputy chairman Raymond Yap Wee Hin. The High Court ordered Yap to pay the SC RM3.28 million, which was three times the loss avoided by him as a result of insider trading activities, as well as a civil penalty of RM1 million.

In a statement today, the regulator said insider trading continues to be a high priority for the SC.

“The judgment sends a strong and clear message to the public that insider trading, where inside information is misused for personal gain, will not be tolerated by the SC.”