Ex-Airocean director's conviction set aside

ONG Chow Hong, one of four former directors of Airocean Group who were charged and convicted over what was then deemed a misleading statement by the company, has had his five-year conviction overturned.

Justice of Appeal Chao Hick Tin, in his oral judgment on Thursday, set aside Mr Ong's conviction on the grounds that more recent judgments involving other former Airocean directors have established that the statement was "not misleading in a material particular".

Mr Ong, then a non-executive chairman and independent director of Airocean, had been convicted for allowing the issuance of an announcement on Nov 25, 2005. The announcement had to do with the then chief executive, Thomas Tay, and omitted to state that Mr Tay had been questioned by Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officers on matters involving Airocean subsidiaries.