Most Singaporeans know the president and chief executive of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), or Sias, as the David who, in 1999, successfully took on the Malaysian Goliath after the government of the day in Kuala Lumpur froze the investments of 172,000 individual Singaporean investors at the height of the Asian financial flu.

Vexed that their precious little savings may be lost, some even contemplated suicide. Others were faced with bankruptcy or suffered marital discord when spouses accused the other of carelessness.