CA upholds 36- and 20-year jail terms in largest stock manipulation case

The convicted duo inflated stock prices via 187 trading accounts.

The Court of Appeal (CA) has upheld sentences of 36 and 20 years’ imprisonment for Soh Chee Wen and Quah Su-Ling, respectively, over their roles in a share manipulation scheme involving Blumont Group Ltd, Asiasons Capital Ltd and LionGold Corp Ltd.

The matter is regarded as the largest market manipulation case in Singapore’s history.

In October 2025, the court had already dismissed appeals against their convictions, according to a joint statement by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Singapore Police Force, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Both defendants had challenged their convictions and sentences after being found guilty in the High Court of 180 and 169 charges, respectively.

The CA affirmed the High Court’s findings that the pair orchestrated a scheme to artificially inflate the market and manipulate the prices of the three counters using a network of 187 trading accounts.

It also found that they had practised deception on Goldman Sachs International and Interactive Brokers LLC by representing that the shares of the three counters were legitimate collateral for margin financing, despite being aware that the shares were involved in manipulative trading activity.

On sentencing, the court rejected Soh’s argument that the October 2013 price collapse was caused by factors beyond his control.

For Quah, the court said her lower level of culpability had already been reflected in the High Court’s sentence.

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