BANKRUPTCY (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

3.49 p.m.

The Minister for Health (Mr Yong Nyuk Lin) (for the Minister for Law and National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill proposes two significant changes in the law of bankruptcy, and these proposals are contained in clauses 12 and 24. The other amendments and modifications are made necessary by recent constitutional changes, and the opportunity has also been taken to make other long-awaited amendments to fill in some gaps in the law relating to bankruptcy and to put right lapses in drafting.

Clauses 4 and 20 propose to omit the references to Her Majesty's dominions in sections 14 and 104 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance. They will also clarify the position by providing for the annulment of the adjudication after the rescission of the receiving order and by empowering the Court to rescind the receiving order when it annuls the adjudication.

Clauses 5 and 7 propose, by deleting the provisos to sections 17 (10) and 31 (6) , to give the Deputy Registrar of the High Court the same powers as the Registrar in the holding of the public examinations of debtors and the examinations of other persons known or suspected to have in their possession any property belonging to the debtor.

Up to now the creditors in a second bankruptcy are not entitled to receive anything out of a bankrupt's estate until the bankrupt has obtained his discharge from his first bankruptcy. The law in this regard was altered in England in 1913, and in 1959 the Federation of Malaya adopted the English law as regards the rights of the Official Assignee under different bankruptcies of the same debtor.

Clause 12 proposes to adopt the modern law in this regard. It is proposed that, in future, where there are two bankruptcies the undistributed property of the bankrupt will vest in the Official Assignee on account of the second bankruptcy and become divisible amongst the creditors of the second bankruptcy. The Official Assignee, as trustee of the first bankruptcy, shall be deemed to be a creditor of the second bankruptcy in respect of any unsatisfied balance of the debts provable in the first bankruptcy. In this way, every creditor of a bankrupt will be able to obtain dividends from the property of a bankrupt, no matter whether he is a creditor of the first or of the subsequent bankruptcies. The proposed amendment will have retrospective effect.

Clause 15 proposes to give power to the Official Assignee to make an allowance to members of a bankrupt's family for their support after the bankrupt's death and also to defray his funeral expenses. The trustees in bankruptcy in England have had these powers for many years now under the Bankruptcy Rules.

Clauses 16 and 17 are introduced to simplify the procedure relating to investments of excess funds standing to the credit of the Bankruptcy Estates Account.

It is proposed in clause 24 to alter the law relating to married women and to make them subject to the Bankruptcy Ordinance in all respects as if they were single. At present, a married woman may be made bankrupt only if it is shown that she has separate property. The law was altered in England by the Law Reform (Married Women and Tortfeasors) Act, 1935, which assimilated to the general law the position of married women in relation to bankruptcy. In the States of Malaya married women became subject to the law of bankruptcy since 1959.

Clause 27 makes provision for unclaimed dividends to be credited to the Consolidated Fund if they remain unclaimed for seven years. If any claim is made to any part of the unclaimed dividends so transferred to the Consolidated Fund, the claimant shall be paid the amount due to him, without interest, from the Consolidated Fund.

The Bankruptcy (Statutory Discharge) Ordinance, 1948, was enacted to discharge under certain conditions the pre-war bankruptcies. This Ordinance has ceased to have effect and clause 30 proposes to repeal it.

The consequential amendments contained in clauses 3 (c) , 8 (a) , 9, 10, 11, 13, 18, 19, 25 and 29, are those made necessary by recent constitutional and administrative changes in Singapore.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Yong Nyuk Lin].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.