By Khushwant Singh

THREE ex-directors of the Airocean Group were charged in a district court on Thursday for allegedly breaching non-disclosure rules to prevent a fall in the company's share price.

Chong Keng Ban, 52, Ong Seow Yong, 50, and Peter Madhavan, 52, each faces a jail term of up to seven years and a maximum $250,000 fine if convicted.

Chong and Madhavan are accused of consenting to Airocean's failure to inform the Singapore Exchange that the then chief executive officer Thomas Tay Nguen Cheong, (correct) was being investigated for corruption between Sept 8 and Dec 1 2005.

They, together with Ong, are also said to have agreed to the firm making a misleading announcement on Nov 25, 2005 via the SGXNET website. In it, they said there had been no impropriety by the firm or Tay.

Chong, then the chief operating officer, was further charged for selling more than two million Airocean shares during that time.

Another ex-director, Ong Chow Hong, 68, was charged on Thursday for allegedly failing to use due diligence by not reading the announcement before approving its release.

If convicted, he could be jailed up to a year and fined a maximum $5,000.