Gwee is the latest prosecution witness to take the stand in the long-running trial of Soh and his co-accused Quah Su-Ling. The duo allegedly masterminded a massive share manipulation operation of Blumont, Asiasons Capital (since delisted) and LionGold (renamed Shen Yao Holdings), also collectively known as BAL. When these three counters crashed suddenly on Oct 4, 2013, some $8 billion in market value was destroyed.
When investigators started probing the 2013 penny stock crash, alleged mastermind John Soh Chee Wen told his longtime friend Dick Gwee Yow Pin that he had thought of different “strategies” for different scenarios.
For example, if Soh was charged, but not Gwee, or, if both of them would be charged, Soh would have different ways to deal with the authorities. Gwee, who has known Soh since 1984 and shared plenty of ups and downs, asked Soh for details. “He just laughed,” Gwee told the court.
