KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Supermax Corp Bhd fell as much as 21 sen or 11% on news its executive chairman and group managing director Datuk Seri Stanley Thai has been charged for insider trading.

Rubber glove manufacturer Supermax fell to its lowest so far today at RM1.73 before reducing losses.

At 12.30pm, the stock was traded at RM1.75 with some three million shares done. For comparison, the FBM KLCI fell 29.25 points or 1.69%.

Thai declined to comment when contacted by theedgemarkets.com today.

"I was advised by my lawyers not to comment," Thai said over telephone.

According to news reports, Thai was charged with one count of insider trading at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today.

It was reported that Securities Commission (SC) officers had accompanied Thai to the court at 9am today. Thai was alleged to have committed the offence between 2007 and 2010.

Today, the report indicated that Sessions Court Judge Abdul Rashid Daud fixed bail at RM250,000 with one surety.

Abdul Rashid instructed Thai to surrender his passport to court in February next year when he returns from an overseas trip.

News on Thai's insider trading charge followed the SC's move last week when the regulator charged a licensed dealer for insider trading of shares in Supermax unit APL Industries Bhd (APLI).
 
The SC charged licensed dealer Tiong Kiong Choon, 54, for insider trading of APLI shares in 2007 prior to the company's delisting the following year.

According to APLI's statement on Bursa Malaysia's website, the exchange regulator had delisted APLI on February 18, 2009.

APLI said Bursa Malaysia had delisted the firm as APLI had aborted its corporate revamp to rejuvenate its financials.