Three jailed in landmark market manipulation trial
Three people have been jailed for up to six years and eight months after being convicted in a high-profile market manipulation case, with a High Court judge saying the trio had damaged the city's status as a financial centre.  Sit Yi-ki, Lam Wing-ki and Tam Cheuk-hang were found guilty of conspiracy to carry out false trading in the shares of Hong Kong-listed construction services company Ching Lee Holdings. Passing sentence on Monday, deputy High Court judge Douglas Yau said it was a "meticulously planned and executed conspiracy" which threatened the integrity of the market, and therefore sentences serving as a deterrent were needed.  The Securities and Futures Commission, which brought the case, said the conspirators artificially increased the turnover of the shares by conducting manipulative trading activities among 156 securities accounts in 2016, while netting illicit profits of more than HK$124 million. The ploy began before Ching Lee's listing on March 29, 2016 and lasted for more than five months. The manipulative activities inflated Ching Lee's share price by as much as 2,000 percent and it reached a historic high of HK$5.98 on July 13. It closed at HK$4.87 on September 6, before a collapse of 90 percent the following day to HK$0.45.  The commission's executive director of enforcement, Christopher Wilson, said the sentences are the longest ever handed down by a court for a market manipulation offence under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. "It sends a very strong and clear message that we will not tolerate any continuous and further misdoings. This is also the first time that one of our cases has been heard before the High Court before a jury," he told reporters after the hearing.  "We are determined to root out all forms of market manipulation, to protect investors and uphold the integrity of Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre."  Two other people alleged to have been involved in the case are currently wanted by the authorities.