The High Court here has ruled that the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) successfully proved its case against five individuals accused of being involved in a fraudulent scheme that allegedly caused losses totalling RM120.6 million to four publicly listed companies.
The defendants were Tey Por Yee, Lim Chye Guan, See Poh Yee, Francis Tan Hock Leong and Faizatul Ikmi Abdul Razak, while the affected companies were Nexgram Holdings Bhd, R&A Telecommunication Group Bhd, Asdion Bhd and Ire-Tex Corporation Bhd.
In a statement today, the SC said High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Arief Emran Arifin, in his judgment yesterday, found evidence that the defendants had taken control of the four companies and carried out fundraising activities, with the funds subsequently channelled out of the companies.
The court found that the defendants had breached, among others, Sections 179(a), 179(b), 317A and 370 of the Capital Markets and Services Act (CMSA) 2007. They were ordered to pay RM100.6 million to the SC under Section 360 of the same Act.
The defendants were also ordered to pay civil penalties totalling RM2.65 million. Tey was ordered to pay RM1 million, Lim RM600,000, while See, Tan and Faizatul were each ordered to pay RM350,000.
In addition, the five defendants have been barred from becoming directors of, or directly or indirectly participating in the management of, any publicly listed company for 10 years from the date of the judgment.
They were also ordered to pay RM500,000 in costs to the SC and prohibited from dealing with their assets until the sums ordered by the court have been fully settled.
The SC had previously obtained an injunction from the High Court in 2022 to prevent the defendants from disposing of their assets while the case was pending. The order barred Tey, Lim, See and Faizatul from dealing with funds in their respective bank accounts.
However, the SC did not seek an injunction against Tan as he had not yet been discharged from bankruptcy.
Tey, Lim, See and Faizatul subsequently appealed the decision, but the Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal and upheld the High Court’s ruling on August 21, 2024.
The SC had filed the suit against all five defendants on November 29, 2022, accusing them of carrying out a scheme to defraud and/or unlawfully cause losses amounting to RM120.6 million to the four listed companies.
Under Section 179 of the CMSA, individuals are prohibited from directly or indirectly using any scheme to commit fraud or engaging in fraudulent or deceptive acts, practices or business dealings in connection with the subscription, purchase or sale of securities.
Section 317A of the CMSA prohibits directors or officers of listed companies from carrying out acts intended to cause wrongful loss to the companies.
According to the SC’s statement of claim, between December 2013 and July 2014, Tey, Lim, See and Tan, in various capacities as directors and officers of the four listed companies, allegedly misappropriated funds raised by the companies.
Faizatul was accused of aiding or facilitating the alleged acts.
The trial, which took place from October 8, 2025 to April 29, 2026, saw the SC call 33 witnesses. The defendants also gave evidence in their respective capacities, except Tan, who had been declared bankrupt and did not attend the proceedings.
The SC was represented by its officers Ng Chian Huey, Mohd Izuddin Mohamad, Annarina Chacko Jacob, Adibah Saiful Bahri and Caysseny Tean Boonsiri, together with lawyers Christopher Leong, Janet Chai Pei Ying, Calvin Wong Wai Hou and Jason Kok Jia Qi from Chooi & Company.
Tey, Lim, See and Faizatul were represented by Datuk C. Vignesh Kumar, while B H Lawrence & Co acted as their solicitors.
The SC said the High Court’s decision further reinforced the accountability of directors and officers entrusted with managing publicly listed companies.
The regulator added that it remained committed to ensuring that misconduct involving the abuse of corporate structures, misappropriation of raised funds and actions causing wrongful losses to listed companies would not be allowed to go unchecked.
