Malaysian pen drive inventor appealing jail sentence in Taiwan

Pua is appealing against a jail sentence handed down by a Taiwan district court, over allegations that he made false company reports. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

Phison Electronics Corp founder and chairman Datuk Pua Khein-Seng, known as the inventor of the pen drive, is appealing against a jail sentence handed down by a Taiwan court.

Pua, 47, was convicted by a Taiwan district court of making false company reports under Article 171 of the Securities and Exchange Act and sentenced to two years in prison.

Malaysiakini reported, based on a statement by Phison, that he was seeking to appeal against the sentence issued on Oct 29.

The company stated that Pua, who controlled multiple companies, had made a “special business arrangement” in the face of stiff competition during the 2008 financial crisis.

The Rakyat Post had earlier reported, quoting a Taiwanese news site, that the case was first investigated in August 2016.

However, the prosecutor’s office ended up suspending its case the following year, and imposed a penalty of NT$110mil (RM16.3mil) on Pua.

It later restarted that case, alleging that the Phison chairman was transferring funds to a Hong Kong subsidiary to free up cash flow and reduce the financial cost of the company he set up.

According to the report, he allegedly instructed staff to “arrange false transactions from 2009 to 2014, resulting in inaccurate accounting, bookkeeping and financial statements of his company”.

Phison stated that it supported Pua and that he would continue to perform his leadership duties as chairman of the company, per the Malaysiakini report.

It added that Pua is appealing the conviction while also continuing settlement discussions with the Securities and Futures Investors Protection Centre.