blizzy
Master Member
Profile:
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 3,252 Well, guess u guys not familiar with bankruptcy laws. For 5 years BEFORE the bankruptcy, they cannot dispose of or give away their property. The court will take back any property, even if they give to their wife.
Fraudulent disposal of property
138. —(1) A bankrupt shall be guilty of an offence if —
(a) he makes or causes to be made, or has during the period of 5 years prior to the date of the bankruptcy order against him made or caused to be made, any gift or transfer of, or any charge on, his property; or
(b) he conceals or removes, or has at any time before the commencement of the bankruptcy concealed or removed, any part of his property after, or within 2 months before, the date on which a judgment or order for the payment of money has been obtained against him, being a judgment or order which was not satisfied before the commencement of his bankruptcy.
Absconding with property
139. A bankrupt shall be guilty of an offence if —
(a) he leaves, or attempts or makes preparations to leave, Singapore with any property the value of which is $500 or more and possession of which he is required to deliver up to the Official Assignee; or
(b) in the 12 months before the making of the bankruptcy application by or against him, or in the initial period, he did anything which would have been an offence under paragraph (a) if the bankruptcy order against him had been made immediately before he did it.
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*UPDATES.
FORMER National Kidney Foundation (NKF) board members Richard Yong and Loo Say San offloaded personal assets worth nearly $8 million earlier this year, but have not paid off any of their debt to the charity.
A day before he threw in the towel on Feb 8 and admitted liability for damages to the NKF, former chairman Yong sold his Four Seasons Park apartment for $3.88 million. Two days later, he sold his Bencoolen Street apartment for $650,000.
He also received $3 million from the collective sale of his Peck Hay Road apartment on March 23.
Former honorary treasurer Loo sold his two cars in as many days - a Toyota Camry he had owned for just four months, plus a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle.
These and other 'questionable' transactions were uncovered by NKF's lawyers from Allen & Gledhill, who went to court last Friday to obtain Mareva injunctions against Yong and Loo that would freeze their assets.
And with the two men being declared bankrupt on Wednesday for the debts they owe the NKF, these transactions could potentially come under the scrutiny of the Official Assignee, who would determine whether they had committed the criminal offence of fraudulent disposal of property.
Under the Bankruptcy Act, it is an offence for a bankrupt to give away or transfer his assets for a period of five years prior to the date of the bankruptcy order against him.
It is also an offence for someone to conceal or remove assets after, or within a two-month period prior to, a judgment being obtained against him.
Anyone found guilty of this offence faces up to three years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
Likewise, under the Penal Code, anyone found guilty of dishonestly or fraudulently removing or concealing assets to prevent payment to creditors faces a jail term of up to two years and a fine.
Yong, Loo and former NKF director Matilda Chua each owe the NKF $100,000 in legal fees, as well as certain damages.
As of April 27, the day the NKF's lawyers filed a bankruptcy application against them, Yong owed $911,425 and Loo owed $679,254. These sums could rise further.
Last Friday, in its application for an injunction to stop Yong and Loo from dissipating assets to evade the judgment, NKF raised several 'questionable' transactions.
Among them were Yong's offloading of around $7.5 million in properties over the space of a few weeks, as well as Loo's sale of his Toyota Camry for $70,000.
He received two cheques for $2,000 and $68,000 from the car dealer.
He said he used $61,000 of this money to repay a loan to a woman related to his wife, though the money appears to have been paid out before he received the $68,000 cheque.
Wednesday's bankruptcy order came three months after Yong, Loo and Chua admitted they were liable to pay damages and costs to the NKF for breaching their duties.
NKF's lawyers issued statutory demands for the trio to pay up, and they had 21 days to respond. When they failed to do so, the lawyers filed applications for them to be declared bankrupt.
Also on Wednesday, the two men were convicted of failing to fulfil their duties as directors. They were the first of the former NKF's board members to be convicted on criminal charges.
selinal@sph.com.sg
