Yesterday (9th), the district court held its first hearing on the highly organized "Sing High Scattered Stock" case involving 18 defendants, which had been transferred from the court of first instance.

This criminal legal procedure originated from a joint investigation by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the police into the "Sing High Scattered Stock" group, which is suspected of committing multiple criminal offenses.

At the request of the prosecution, the 18 defendants in the three cases will be tried separately for their involvement in the "Sing High Scattered Stock" scheme of three Hong Kong-listed companies, including Eggriculture (08609.HK), Fuhui Construction (now known as Fuhui International) (01034.HK), and KNT Holdings (01025.HK).

Of the 18 defendants, four have been charged in two of the three cases. The defendants are accused of organizing and executing the "Sing High Scattered Stock" scheme involving Eggriculture, Fuhui and KNT Holdings, manipulating a large amount of stock trading through multiple celebrity accounts, and inducing investors to buy shares through different social media platforms.

The defendants do not have to plead at this time, and the three cases have been postponed to November 12th.

During the hearing, one of the defendants applied to retrieve their travel documents and leave Hong Kong, while another sought to revoke the bail conditions related to reporting to the police station. Both applications were rejected by the court.

The court finally approved bail for each defendant, with the condition that they must not leave Hong Kong, surrender all travel documents, pay the same amount of bail as previously ordered, report regularly to the police station, and reside at the address they have declared. Any change of address must be notified to the police.