(REVISED) OPEN LETTER TO MINISTER OF LAW
Dear Minister Shanmugam:
I refer to the details relating to recent bankruptcy discharges. It raises serious concerns as listed below:
1. Is there under-staffing in Insolvency Office plus unqualified personnel handling bankruptcy matters resulting in over poor management of bankrupts to the gross disadvantage of judgement creditors? If so what is being done about it?
2. Why are governmental agencies like IRAS, CPF, OA, etc paid first before judgement creditors who afterall has paid for and seeded the entire matter? At best these agencies can rank pari pasu to judgement creditors NOT ahead of them making our bankruptcy laws subject of joke in financial circle.
3. After preferred “creditors” in government are paid, there is no incentive but for OA to push for discharge of bankrupts even though there is little or no payment to bona fide creditors. Is this fair especially there are also expenses incurred during bankruptcy.
4. Is it true that creditors, besides provision of tipoffs are required to furnish proof of PI quality to the OA office? Why is the Field Enforcement Unit in OA office dismantled when there is still a need for it?
5. There were cases of bankrupts being discharged despite breaking serious OA rules regarding overseas travel without OA approval. Why have such rule when the infraction does not count as NO cooperation given to OA which is one cardinal criterion for discharge?
6. When OA is made aware with clear evidence of lying under oath in bankrupt’s affidavits will his discharge still proceed? Will OA as an arm of mLaw take action forward matter for action to be taken against the recalcitrant bankrupt for criminal offence of PERJURY?? If so how many bankrupts have been convicted?
7. In most big cases of bankruptcy there are residue assets. How, if at all, are the asset inventoried and acted upon? If not why not?
8. Does it make sense that a bankrupt earning $3000 and $8000 pays only$50 & $150 to the bankruptcy estate? Also when there was consideration given to support his children who later grow up, got married and are gainfully employed why is there no matching arrangement for the children to help pay contribution increase? When children grow up are they allowed to bring in, in somewhat revolving door fashion, parents, parents-in-laws, grandparents etc to take the places of their children? Creditors are kept being denied of fair payment but the system is both deaf or silent on this scenario.
9. Bankrupts are protected from having their HDB home and CPF liquidated to repay creditiors. There are recalcitrant bankrupts who juggled HDB & CPF to hide their assets by re-selling first to parents (without paying their bankrupt offspring so as to hide the assets from creditors) and later upon undeserving discharge, buy back from their parents using funds from their OA protected CPF often at exhorbitant prices way above market norm. This roundtripping can free up million plus dollars for the bankrupts to cheat creditors again. Why is OA not aware?? of such game being played? Is anything being done to plug the gaping loophole? To help bankrupt return to normalcy is noble but to assist them to game the system and defraud lenders is despicable.
10. All bankrupts drive on the sly with cars at their disposal...... bought with their money by their proxies as they are not allowed to own car. Why is OA blind to this malpractise? Why should not their driving license be detained or Field Enforcement checks out the car mostly parked at place of work and in car park at home. Some of their creditors are taken public transport after being cheated of their savings, why should bankrupts enjoy the luxury of driving when they should be paying more to their creditors?????
11. Creditors/lenders whether local/foreign have always been given the indelible impression that our bankruptcy laws are robust OR at least befitting that of a Financial Hub. Is this an eyewash or a shining apple grown rotten?
Yours truly
Puzzled & Frustrated
