Koh Soe Khon, 55, managing director of listed disk drive parts maker Brilliant Manufacturing, was charged by the Commercial Affairs Department, which investigates financial crimes, a police spokesman told AFP.

Brilliant Manufacturing said in a statement late Tuesday that Koh "has been charged for insider trading and for certain offences relating to the non-disclosure of transactions in the shares of the company."

Koh, who was charged in court Tuesday, is alleged to have committed the crimes between 2000 and 2003.

Among the charges against him, Koh is alleged to have bought almost 1.3 million company shares using third-party accounts just before Brilliant announced a major deal in China.

This is the fifth corporate scandal to hit Singapore since last November when jet fuel trader China Aviation Oil sought court protection from creditors after revealing it lost 550 million US dollars in derivatives trading.

Its suspended chief executive, China-born national Chen Jiulin, was charged with 15 counts of cheating and forgery while running the listed firm. Four other executives were also charged in connection with irregularities leading to the company's near collapse.

Earlier this year, the former executive chairman of Amtek Engineering, Lee Ah Bee, was fined S$50,000 (US$30,000 US) for insider trading.

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