MALAYSIA

Caning to Be Proposed for Trading Offenses: The Finance Ministry plans to propose mandatory whipping for offenses involving stock trading, the Star newspaper reported. Eligible offenses would include market manipulation and rigging, short-selling, insider trading and giving misleading information to investors, the paper said. The proposed regulations would also raise the maximum fine for such offenses from $200,000 to $400,000, and increase the maximum prison term from five years to 10 years. Last week, a local securities firm announced it was looking for a former dealer who allegedly made off with $800,000 worth of a client’s money after failing to use the money to buy a stock requested by the client.