SINGAPORE - A former DBS Vickers remisier, who made unauthorised trades on two clients' securities accounts resulting in losses of about $95,000, was jailed for 18 weeks on Monday (Dec 7).
Allan Chua Choen Beng, 52, admitted to deceiving the broking firm into believing that the trades he made on behalf of Mr Goh Gek Chye from around May 24 to June 17, 2004, were authorised transactions. As a result of his acts, Mr Goh and DBSV suffered losses amounting to $ 76,503.
A second similar charge, involving another person and losses of $18,178, was taken into consideration in sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Joshua Lai said the second victim made a police report on Nov 3, 2004, that Chua conducted unauthorised trades with her DBSV securities trading account.
By then, Chua had abruptly resigned and left Singapore for the United States where he successfully applied for and obtained citizenship.
Chua was not contactable until his arrest atWoodlands Checkpoint on March 25 this year.
DPP Lai said Chua in fact had no intention to enter Singapore that day. He was taking his father to renew the latter's autocard near the entrance of the Malaysian Customs when he missed a U-turn and inadvertently drove to the Singapore side of the Causeway.
As he was trying to remove a barricade to make a U-turn back to Malaysia, he was stopped by an immigration officer, and later arrested.
The court heard that Mr Goh, who had known Chua for about 20 years, opened a DBSV account with Chua in 2002 at Chua's request so that he could earn some commission.
Mr Goh had never authorised or consented to having Chua use his trading account to make personal trades for his own benefit.
Chua made 12 unauthorised trades without Mr Goh's consent or knowledge on Mr Goh's trading account.
When confronted with the unauthorised trades, Chua lied that he had in fact used his own account to trade for his (Chua's) "boss'' for some syndicate trading. Chua further lied that his "boss'' would settle the losses when there was no such "boss''.
Chua left Singapore on Oct 29 that year without settling the losses and became uncontactable subsequently.
He made full restitution last month, 11 years after the losses had been suffered by the two victims. He could have been fined up to $250,000 and jailed for up to seven years under the Securities and Futures Act.
