Veteran film producer and actor Raymond Wong Pak-ming sentenced to five months in prison for insider trading, Hong Kong court ruled Tuesday. The 80-year-old found guilty of leaking confidential info to his sister for trades in entertainment company he chaired back in 2017.
Despite conviction,Wong won't start serving time immediately. Magistrate Ko Wai-hung granted bail pending appeal, letting Wong stay free for now . The magistrate made clear Wong's big contributions to film industry don't mean a lighter sentence. “Even [Wong] has a good background and contributed his whole life to filmmaking … this, however,would not constitute a special reason [for the court] to hand down a suspended sentence or community service order,” Ko stated.
Court found Wong advised younger sister,Jenny Wong,on major share trades in Transmit Entertainment, formerly Pegasus Entertainment Holdings, between August 25 and October 17, 2017. Besides prison time,Wong fined HK$99,000 and must pay HK$370,000 in legal costs.
