Hot stock: TalkMed tumbles 17.5% on CEO's eight-month suspension

CATALIST-listed TalkMed Group saw its shares tumble 15 per cent when trading resumed at 02:00pm on Wednesday, following news that its chief executive officer, Ang Peng Tiam, had been given an eight-month suspension by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC).

Dr Ang, 59, a prominent cancer specialist and the company's main revenue contributor, was suspended after a failed appeal against a misconduct conviction. The suspension will begin on July 25, 2017.

By 02:34pm, TalkMed was trading around S$0.615, down S$0.130, or 17.450 per cent. More than 500,000 shares changed hands. The company had requested for a trading halt on Wednesday morning. Its shares last traded at S$0.745.

Dr Ang contributes over half of TalkMed's revenue. He had originally appealed against his S$25,000 fine by the SMC.

Two daughters of a former patient made a complaint against Dr Ang in 2010. The SMC's disciplinary tribunal found Dr Ang guilty of two of the charges: That he made false representation to the patient who was suffering from lung cancer that there was a "70 per cent" chance of responding to the treatment he suggested and that he failed to offer her surgery as an option.

TalkMed said all of Dr Ang's cases would be handed over to his colleagues including Dr Khoo Kei Siong, TalkMed's chief operating officer.

"The group is operationally sound and on a firm financial footing. While the verdict may have a material impact on the group's earnings, the board is confident that the suspension will not have a major long-term effect on the group,'' TalkMed said in a release.