SINGAPORE (Feb 28): On Feb 25, The Edge Singapore received a letter sent by Rajah & Tann on behalf of one Richard Teng, taking issue with a story we first published online late in the evening of Feb 18. The same story “John Soh claimed ex-SGX chief regulator Teng fed him updates on CAD probe: Prosecution witness” was also published in our Feb 24 print issue.
The Feb 18 story was the latest in our coverage of the long-running trial of John Soh Chee Wen and Quah Su-Ling, alleged masterminds behind the manipulation of the three penny stocks which led to the October 2013 crash.
Earlier that day, prosecution witness Ken Tai Chee Meng had testified that he heard from his then client Soh, that Teng had provided Soh with information on ongoing investigations in the wake of the penny stock crash. Teng, who is now CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), was then chief regulatory officer at the Singapore Exchange.
We based our report on what was verified to be a genuine court transcript.
As we published the story on the evening of Feb 18, we reached out to the Singapore Exchange for a comment. The following day, SGX responded, declining comment. We updated the article immediately.
We also reached out to Teng on the evening of Feb 18. As we did not have the means to contact Teng directly, we sent an email to the corporate communications contact listed on the website of ADGM, as it is public information that Teng works at ADGM.
In our email to ADGM, we stated what we discovered from the transcript and urgently requested a comment from him. We received an automatic acknowledgment.
We made reasonable attempts to contact Teng for a response. On Feb 24, we got in touch with ADGM again to ask to speak to Teng.
In the Feb 25 letter from Rajah & Tann, we were told that what the witness Tai said in court and what we published about Teng was malicious and baseless and that Teng would not be commenting as the proceedings are still ongoing.
Separately, on Feb 26, we received a reply from ADGM saying it will not be making a comment on an ongoing court case.
Seven years on, the Singapore stock market is still reeling from that crash and its repercussions are being felt far and wide. And The Edge Singapore will continue to cover the trial.
