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The Insider Dealing Tribunal, chaired by the Honourable Mr Justice Saunders sitting with Mr Nigel Keith Bacon and Mr Pang Hon Chung as members, has concluded the hearings for determining the profit gained by the person found to be an insider dealer in the insider dealing inquiry concerning Asia Orient Holdings Limited.
The inquiry was conducted pursuant to a notice served by the Financial Secretary on May 15, 2003. The tribunal completed its inquiry and concluded that Mr Thomas Lau Luen Hung had engaged in insider dealing. The tribunal submitted its report to the Financial Secretary on September 8, 2006. The tribunal then conducted a hearing on December 7, 2006, to deal with issues relating to profit gained, financial penalties and the orders to be made.
The tribunal made the following orders against the only insider dealer in this case. Mr Thomas Lau Luen Hung shall:
(i) not without the leave of the Court of First Instance, be a director of Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd, or United Metals Holdings Ltd, for a period of 12 months commencing from December 22, 2006;
(ii) pay to the Government a sum of $15,301,676 being the profit gained in respect of his insider dealing;
(iii) pay to the Government a penalty of $15,000,000 in respect of his insider dealing; and
(iv) pay to the Government a sum of $3,860,506.33 in respect of the expenses of the inquiry.
A report on the penalty and consequential orders of the tribunal has been submitted to the Financial Secretary and distributed to all concerned parties.
Ends/Friday, December 15, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:27
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