Goh Jin Hian, son of former Singapore PM Goh Chok Tong, faces charges of false trading

SINGAPORE: Dr Goh Jin Hian, the former CEO of New Silkroutes Group, an investment holding company, was formally charged on Wednesday (20 Sep), with alleged false trading offences.

The 54-year-old, who is the son of former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, is facing a total of 39 charges under the Securities and Futures Act.

Accompanying Goh in the charges are three other individuals linked to New Silkroutes: Kelvyn Oo Cheong Kwan, aged 52, who formerly served as the executive director and chief corporate officer at New Silkroutes; William Teo Thiam Chuan, aged 54, who previously held the position of finance director at the group; and Huang Yiwen, aged 40, a commercial market maker engaged by New Silkroutes.

In a general sense, Goh stands accused of colluding with the aforementioned three individuals to manipulate the price of New Silkroutes’ securities on 31 trading days spanning from February 2018 to August 2018.

The alleged manipulative actions include share buybacks executed through New Silkroutes’ corporate trading account.

Additionally, Goh faces allegations of artificially inflating the price of New Silkroutes’ securities by placing orders and conducting trades through his DBS Private Bank investment account, purportedly taking place over eight trading days from August 2018 to December 2018.

Each of the three co-accused individuals received identical charges totalling 31.

Goh resigned from New Silkroutes Group in October 2020

Goh served as the CEO of New Silkroutes Group from June 2015 but assumed the role of chairman in October 2020.

In an announcement made on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in October 2020, Goh resigned from his position as chairman of the group, citing the need to allocate more time to personal matters.

Simultaneously, his co-accused, Teo, also stepped down from his role as finance director, stating the intention to focus on personal affairs and explore other interests.

Joint probe by CAD and MAS unveils charges

Following the hearing, the police disclosed that these charges emerged from a collaborative investigation by the police’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

During the legal proceedings, Goh was represented by Mr Navin Thevar from Davinder Singh Chambers, while Oo received legal representation from Senior Counsel N. Sreenivasan and Mr. S. Balamurugan from K&L Gates Straits Law.

Teo was represented by Mr Thong Chee Kun and Ms Ng Pei Qi from Rajah & Tann. Huang was defended by Ms Diana Ngiam and Ms Joyce Khoo from Quahe Woo & Palmer.

Goh, Teo, and Oo are scheduled to return to court in the coming month.

Of the four individuals, Huang is the only one potentially facing additional charges, as indicated by the prosecution.

His next court mention is scheduled for November.

If found guilty, the accused individuals could face a prison sentence of up to seven years, a fine of up to S$250,000 (US$183,100), or both for each charge.