SINGAPORE (April 23): In Day Six of the trial of John Soh Chee Wen, the defence wrapped up their cross examination of the prosecution’s first witness, former OCBC Securities remisier Ng Kit Kiat.
Ng had on Monday admitted to having performed trades without third-party authorisation.
The trades performed without third-party authorisation included those based on orders given by a certain Ang Cheau Hoon Alice and Kent Eng Peng Huat, both of whom are remisiers at UOB Kay Hian, for accounts held by Ang's husband Poh Sian Hong as well as Eng's wife Yew Yong Mei.
When asked by Soh’s defence counsel Senior Counsel N Sreenivasan why he had only revealed the trades done without third-party authorisation on the orders of Soh and Quah Su-Ling, Ng said, “Nobody asked me,” before adding, “I only answered the questions on the topics that CAD (Commercial Affairs Department) asked me.”
Ng also disagreed to the allegation by Quah’s defence counsel Phillip Fong that he and Ang had engaged in “layering” where a trader makes and then cancels orders in hopes of influencing the stock price.
Fong said, “You have been a trader for over 40 years, surely you must know what’s going on.”
Ng replied, “I simply take orders, asking clients if they are keen to buy, keen to sell, or withdraw.”
Fong then put it to Ng that he was “trying to hide (his) own market misconducts by telling the CAD what they wanted to hear”.
“You are insistent on distancing yourself from John Soh and Quah Su-Ling to in hopes of hiding your acts,” said Fong.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Peter Koy then took over, addressing allegations made by the defence that Ng had received coaching from an investigating officer at CAD when giving his statements, particularly on the nature of the instructions he had received from Soh and Quah.