Gradual rise in number going abroad without seeking permission first
By K. C. Vijayan 24 November 2008
A bankrupt made 247 trips overseas between 2001 and last year without first getting clearance from the Official Assignee.
Eight others, meanwhile, made more than 50 such unauthorised trips, while three more received warnings but continued to travel without permission.
All 12 will now be brought to court on the same day this week to send a message to bankrupts that the Official Assignee, who administers the affairs of all bankrupts here, will not tolerate anyone flouting this rule.
The Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office (IPTO), which comes under the Law Ministry, told The Straits Times there had been a gradual hike in the number of such offenders, with about 30 to 40 being prosecuted each year.
Without taking into account the latest dozen set to be charged, there have been 17 such cases so far this year.
Under the law, bankrupts need to get approval to travel outside Singapore and face jail terms of up to two years or fines of up to $10,000 or both for not doing so.
Last year, the Official Assignee received some 41,621 applications from bankrupts to travel overseas, of which about 90per cent were approved.
The IPTO allows bankrupts to apply for permission to travel via electronic means at www.iptoonline.gov.sg.
Travel permission is immediate in the case of those who have been cooperative in the administration of their estates, says the IPTO.
Approval is necessary so that the Official Assignee can monitor a bankrupt’s movements to properly administer his affairs for the benefit of his creditors, said the IPTO. It is also to prevent a bankrupt from hiding income earned, or acquiring or disposing of assets abroad.
Last year, former National Kidney Foundation chairman Richard Yong was jailed a total of 15 months for offences under the Bankruptcy Act and Penal Code.
Among other things, Yong sneaked off to Malaysia in May last year without permission less than a day after he was made a bankrupt. He was caught two months later in Hong Kong and extradited back, but not before illegally transferring nearly $4million into his wife’s overseas bank account.
District Judge Liew Thiam Leng had said in his written judgment that Yong’s actions ‘hindered’ the efforts of the Official Assignee to administer his estate.
This would have resulted in ‘a loss to the creditors, and may lead to a loss of public confidence in the bankruptcy regime,’ the judge added.
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12 Bankrupts to Face Travel Charges
Gradual rise in number going abroad without seeking permission first
By K. C. Vijayan
24 November 2008
A bankrupt made 247 trips overseas between 2001 and last year without first getting clearance from the Official Assignee.
Eight others, meanwhile, made more than 50 such unauthorised trips, while three more received warnings but continued to travel without permission.
All 12 will now be brought to court on the same day this week to send a message to bankrupts that the Official Assignee, who administers the affairs of all bankrupts here, will not tolerate anyone flouting this rule.
The Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office (IPTO), which comes under the Law Ministry, told The Straits Times there had been a gradual hike in the number of such offenders, with about 30 to 40 being prosecuted each year.
Without taking into account the latest dozen set to be charged, there have been 17 such cases so far this year.
Under the law, bankrupts need to get approval to travel outside Singapore and face jail terms of up to two years or fines of up to $10,000 or both for not doing so.
Last year, the Official Assignee received some 41,621 applications from bankrupts to travel overseas, of which about 90per cent were approved.
The IPTO allows bankrupts to apply for permission to travel via electronic means at www.iptoonline.gov.sg.
Travel permission is immediate in the case of those who have been cooperative in the administration of their estates, says the IPTO.
Approval is necessary so that the Official Assignee can monitor a bankrupt’s movements to properly administer his affairs for the benefit of his creditors, said the IPTO. It is also to prevent a bankrupt from hiding income earned, or acquiring or disposing of assets abroad.
Last year, former National Kidney Foundation chairman Richard Yong was jailed a total of 15 months for offences under the Bankruptcy Act and Penal Code.
Among other things, Yong sneaked off to Malaysia in May last year without permission less than a day after he was made a bankrupt. He was caught two months later in Hong Kong and extradited back, but not before illegally transferring nearly $4million into his wife’s overseas bank account.
District Judge Liew Thiam Leng had said in his written judgment that Yong’s actions ‘hindered’ the efforts of the Official Assignee to administer his estate.
This would have resulted in ‘a loss to the creditors, and may lead to a loss of public confidence in the bankruptcy regime,’ the judge added.
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