TAN KHENG YEOW (CHEN QINGYAO) v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

Q: Which legislation does [2026] SGHC 87 consider?

The judgment refers to Penal Code (Cap 224) and Securities and Futures Act (Cap 289). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

[2026] SGHC 87 High Court (General Division) 23 April 2026 HC/MA 9185/2025/01 19 min read

7 cases cited

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	23 April 2026
Judge	Christopher Tan
Charges / claim	Criminal Procedure and Sentencing, Criminal Law
Counsel	Attorney-General's Chambers, TKQP Law LLP, Darren Sim, Jeslyn Tan Yuan Lin, Marina Chin, Xavier Tan

Source: [2026] SGHC 87, High Court (General Division), decided 23 April 2026 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Criminal Procedure and Sentencing — Sentencing — Appeals Criminal Law — Offences — Property — Criminal breach of trust

Practice Areas

Criminal Procedure and Sentencing Criminal Law

Judges (1)

Christopher Tan Delivered

Counsel (6)

Attorney-General's Chambers Firm TKQP Law LLP Firm Darren Sim Counsel Respondent Jeslyn Tan Yuan Lin Counsel Appellant Marina Chin Counsel Appellant Xavier Tan Counsel Respondent

Parties (2)

Public Prosecutor Respondent Tan Kheng Yeow (Chen Qingyao) Appellant

Case Significance

Christopher Tan J of the High Court General Division dismissed this sentencing appeal on 23 April 2026 in an ex tempore judgment. The appellant, Tan Kheng Yeow (Chen Qingyao), had pleaded guilty before a District Judge to one charge of criminal breach of trust under s 406 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed), with a further CBT charge taken into consideration for sentencing. He was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment and appealed against sentence in Magistrate's Appeal No 9185 of 2025.

The background involved SGX's introduction in August 2014 of a minimum trading price (MTP) measure requiring Mainboard-listed shares to trade at a volume weighted average price of at least 20 cents, with a one-year transition period. The appellant was then CEO and director of KTL Global Limited, whose shares were trading at around 11 cents; by October 2014 the price had risen only to a maximum of 14.3 cents, still well below the MTP. Christopher Tan J dismissed the appeal, maintaining the 32-month imprisonment term. The appellant was represented by Marina Chin and Jeslyn Tan Yuan Lin of TKQP Law LLP; the prosecution was represented by Darren Sim and Xavier Tan of the Attorney-General's Chambers.

[2026] SGHC 87 explained

TAN KHENG YEOW (CHEN QINGYAO) v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ([2026] SGHC 87) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 23 April 2026. It is categorised under Criminal Procedure and Sentencing and Criminal Law. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2026] SGHC 87 about?

TAN KHENG YEOW (CHEN QINGYAO) v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ([2026] SGHC 87) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2026. Its published catchwords are “Criminal Procedure and Sentencing — Sentencing — Appeals” and “Criminal Law — Offences — Property — Criminal breach of trust”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2026] SGHC 87 consider?

The judgment refers to Penal Code (Cap 224) and Securities and Futures Act (Cap 289). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2026] SGHC 87 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2026] SGCA 13. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

Summary

Tan Kheng Yeow, former CEO and director of SGX-listed KTL Global Limited, pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust under s 406 of the Penal Code for misappropriating S$1,001,000 from the company, which was channelled through two Hong Kong entities to pay an accomplice who conducted wash trades to artificially inflate KTLG's share price and avert delisting. The District Court sentenced him to 32 months' imprisonment, and he appealed on the ground that the sentence was manifestly excessive. The High Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the 32-month sentence.

What was the sentence upheld in Tan Kheng Yeow v Public Prosecutor [2026] SGHC 87?

Christopher Tan J upheld a sentence of 32 months' imprisonment against Tan Kheng Yeow, former CEO and director of SGX-listed KTL Global Limited, who pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust under s 406 of the Penal Code with a second CBT charge taken into consideration. Appeal dismissed 23 April 2026.

What was the background to the criminal breach of trust charge in Tan Kheng Yeow (Chen Qingyao) v PP [2026] SGHC 87?

The case arose from SGX's August 2014 minimum trading price measure requiring shares to trade at 20 cents. The appellant was CEO of KTL Global Limited, whose shares traded at around 11 cents and reached only 14.3 cents by October 2014, still below the threshold, providing context for the CBT offence.