The Securities & Futures Commission has suspended Kao Hsien-kuang for five months from January 3 for executing an order that might have had a manipulative intention.

Kao is licensed under the Securities & Futures Ordinance to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities) regulated activity. Since 2004, he has been the responsible officer of First Securities (HK) Limited.

In December 2005, Kao was instructed to buy a substantial amount of Hua Lien shares which were thinly traded. Despite his suspicion that the order might have had a manipulative intention - to push up artificially the closing price, he executed the order.