Business

Singapore: Defense lawyer says market maker was trading for himself in Goh Jin Hian’s trial

A key defence lawyer in the ongoing false-trading trial of former CEO New Silkroutes Group Dr Goh Jin Hian reportedly alleged that a market maker engaged by the company was trading shares for himself.

Published

5 months ago

February 12, 2026

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A key defence lawyer in the ongoing false-trading trial of former Chief Executive Officer of New Silkroutes Group (NSG) Dr Goh Jin Hian reportedly alleged that a market maker engaged by the company was trading shares for his own benefit.

According to CNA, the lead lawyer of Dr Goh said this during a cross examination of convicted Huang Yiwen, who was sentenced to a jail term of 27 months and two weeks on August 2025, in the ongoing trial of Dr Goh and Kelvyn Oo Cheong Kwan, NSG’s former chief corporate officer.

In September 2023, Dr Goh, Oo, and Huang and former NSG finance director William Teo Thiam Chuan were each charged with 31 counts of Section 197(1)(b) of the SFA read with Section 109 of the Penal Code for engaging in a conspiracy to create a misleading appearance with respect to the price of NSG securities.

They allegedly placed orders and executed trades in NSG securities for a purpose of pushing up the price of NSG securities on 31 trading days between 26 February 2018 and 27 August 2018. The alleged price manipulative orders and trades include share buy-backs conducted through NSG’s corporate trading account.

During the cross-examination, Dr Goh’s lead counsel, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, challenged Huang’s testimony, arguing that Huang was really trading for himself.

Mr Tan showed trading volume data in 2018 and suggested to Huang that the effect of his “massive trading” in a certain period actually resulted in the share price being depressed.

He also presented text messages exchanged between Huang and Teo, where Teo asked about the results of Huang’s trades and Huang replied that he picked up 800,000 shares.

Mr Tan showed a table, presenting that the total number of buys for that period was 681,000 while the total number of sells was about 444,000.

He pressed Huang on why he had reported acquiring 800,000 shares without noting that he had also sold about 400,000 shares during the same period, which would have depressed the NSG share price.

The trial continues. If convicted of an offence under Section 197 of the SFA, offenders may be liable to an imprisonment term not exceeding seven years, or a fine not exceeding SGD 250,000, or both.

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 12 February, 2026

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Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

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Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July).

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions.

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Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

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Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

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that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
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Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

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PIL's LNG dual-fuel boxship “Kota Elok” arrives in Singapore on maiden call

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As the first of 13 new 13,000 TEU vessels joining its fleet, Kota Elok is equipped to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and low-sulphur fuel oil that helps reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The vessel also incorporated energy-saving features and digital technologies to reduce fuel consumption and enhance operational performance, as well as a bow windshield to improve aerodynamics, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions over the course of long-haul voyages.

“Following Singapore, Kota Elok will continue her voyage on our East Coast Service 1 (ES1) route to South America, calling at ports in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina before returning to Asia,” the company said in a social media post.

Kota Elok also became PIL’s first vessel to receive Lloyd’s Register certification for compliance with the IACS UR E26 and UR E27 cyber security requirements.

Developed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), UR E26 and UR E27 are mandatory cyber resilience requirements for newbuild vessels contracted from 1 July 2024.

Photo credit: Pacific International Lines
Published: 21 July, 2026