Thumb drive inventor fined $80k over failure to disclose transactions
Despite being involved in deals that amounted to about US$10.5 million (S$14.37 million), the founder of the Singapore firm that invented the thumb drive failed to disclose those transactions made between his mainboard-listed company and two other firms.
Singaporean Henry Tan, founder of Trek 2000 International, even attended audit committee meetings at which the topic of such transactions was under review.
The 63-year-old was yesterday fined $80,000 after pleading guilty to two charges under the Securities and Futures Act.
He also faces nine other outstanding charges that have been scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Sept 10.
Tan had stepped down in May 2018 as chief executive of the information technology solutions provider.
While he was CEO, Trek 2000 International's subsidiaries made six transactions worth US$882,000 with S-Com Solutions HK in 2010, and 18 transactions worth US$9.59 million with T-Data Systems in 2013. The court heard Tan did not disclose these transactions.
T-Data is a private firm incorporated in Singapore, while S-Com Solutions is incorporated in Hong Kong.
Tan's son held 80 per cent of T-Data shares, while Tan was the sole shareholder of S-Com Solutions at the time, making both companies "interested persons" in relation to Trek 2000 International.
Being a mainboard-listed company, Trek 2000 International was required to immediately announce those transactions, since the aggregate value of all transactions with each of the two firms that financial year was 3 per cent or more of the group's latest tangible assets.
Two others - Gurcharan Singh, then the chief financial officer of Trek 2000 International, and Poo Teng Pin, then the executive director - were earlier charged with related offences.
Poo pleaded guilty on March 4 to a charge of failing to disclose seven interested person transactions with T-Data and was later fined $20,000.
Proceedings against Gurcharan are pending.
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