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Alcohol 'impaired director's judgment'

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A toxicology expert believed alcohol impaired the judgment of the former head of the Civil Aviation Department, who is accused of insider trading, when he had made the transaction, a court heard yesterday.

The comments made by Dr Lau Fei-lung, director of the Hong Kong Poison Information Centre, were read out in Eastern Court, where Albert Lam Kwong-yu, 66, a former director general of the department, is facing trial.

Lam has pleaded not guilty to one count of insider trading. He is accused of abusing price-sensitive information he obtained as a non-executive director of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (Haeco) to acquire 4,000 Haeco shares one trading day before Swire Pacific acquired 15 per cent of the company's stock from Cathay Pacific on June 7, 2010.

Trading in Haeco shares was suspended on June 7 when the acquisition occurred. The same day, Swire announced a general offer to buy Haeco shares from existing shareholders. When trading resumed, shares closed at HK$104, 24 per cent higher than on the last trading day before the announcement.

The Securities and Futures Commission is prosecuting Lam for making a profit of HK$79,436. Lam has resigned from Haeco.

Lam has said he was under the influence of alcohol when he bought the shares.

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