FOREIGN BANKRUPTS: CAN A PERSON DECLARED BANKRUPT IN

SINGAPORE DEAL WITH HIS PROPERTIES IN MALAYSIA?

 Bankruptcy proceedings can be taken against a person who has been adjudged
bankrupt by the court of another country so long as he is a debtor within the definition
of the Act and the requirements in Section 5(1)(d) of the Act are satisfied.
 Nevertheless, if the debtor has been adjudged bankrupt by the Singapore court, in
deciding whether to commence bankruptcy proceedings against him, the creditor
should consider whether distribution of the debtor's estate and effects would be more
effectively dealt with in Singapore than in Malaysia. If it is, the creditor should
proceed to lodge proof of debt with the Official Assignee of Singapore if the debt is a
provable debt in view of section 105(1) of the Act which allows the court to annul the
bankruptcy order obtained against the bankrupt if the court is satisfied that
distribution of his estate and effects among his creditors ought to take place in
Singapore.
 With regard to his property situated in Malaysia, section 104(4) of the Act
provides that such property shall vest in the Official Assignee of Singapore and
all courts in Malaysia shall recognise the title of the Official Assignee to such
property (s104(4) of the Act), unless the bankrupt is also facing a separate
bankruptcy petition filed against him in Malaysia, in which case such property
shall vest in the Official Assignee of Singapore only when the Malaysian petition
is dismissed, withdrawn, or the bankruptcy order annulled.
Section 104(4) of Insolvency Act reads;
(4) From the date of such notification where any person has been adjudged a
bankrupt by a court of the Republic of Singapore, such property of such bankrupt
situate in Malaysia as would, if he had been adjudged bankrupt in Malaysia, vest in
the Director General of Insolvency of Malaysia, shall vest in the Official Assignee
appointed by the Government of the Republic of Singapore, and all courts in
Malaysia shall recognize the title of such Official Assignee to such property:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply where a bankruptcy petition has been
presented against the bankrupt in Malaysia, until the petition has been dismissed or
withdrawn or the bankruptcy order has been annulled as the case may be.
 The application of that provision however will take effect from the date the Yang di-
Pertuan Agong has made a declaration (s104 (4) of the Act) that the Malaysian
Government has entered into an agreement with the Government of Singapore for the
mutual recognition of their respective bankruptcy administration (s104 (3) of the Act).
 It may appear that no such declaration has been made but the bankruptcy regimes of
both countries have been mutually recognised on the strength of an agreement
between the Government of the Federation of Malaya and the Government of the
Colony of Singapore which took effect from 1 st February 1950 executed pursuant to
the Bankruptcy (Transitional Provisions) Ordinance 1948.
  Despite the absence of the declaration by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the
enforceability of the bankruptcy order granted by Singapore courts on pursuant to
section 104 of the Act appears to have been recognized by the Malaysian courts.
 In Bangkok Bank Company Ltd v The Thye Nam Loong Holdings Sdn Bhd
[2005] 6 CLJ 457, apparently by relying section 104 of the Act, it was decided that
upon the debtor's adjudication in Singapore, the creditor who obtained
judgment and bankruptcy order against the debtor could not enforce the
judgment on the debtor's properties in Malaysia as such properties would vest
with the Official Assignee of Singapore upon his adjudication.
 In Chay Fook Yuen v Mohd Zain Abdullah [2016] 10 CLJ 274, the court readily
granted the application of the plaintiffs for declarations of the applicability of the
Singapore bankruptcy order against the bankrupt, and the order granted by the
Singapore court appointing them as the joint and several trustees of the estate of the
bankrupt, and that the bankrupts properties located in Malaysia be vest in them with
the power to realise and sell such properties.
 To assert his claim over the bankrupt's properties in Malaysia, where the
assistance of the Malaysian courts is required, the Official Assignee of Singapore
may rely on the adjudication order bearing the seal of the Singapore court, or a
copy of the official Gazette of Singapore containing a notice of such bankruptcy
order, which shall be accepted as conclusive proof of the debtor's bankruptcy in
all courts in Malaysia.
 The Official Assignee of Singapore may sue and be sued in any court in Malaysia by
the official name of "The Official Assignee of the property of [the name of the
bankrupt] a bankrupt under the law of the Republic of Singapore”.

Briefly, if a person has been adjudged bankrupt in Singapore, under Section 104(4) of
Insolvency Act, his properties in Malaysia shall vest in the Official Assignee of Singapore
and all courts in Malaysia shall recognise the title of the Official Assignee to such property.
So, I think he cannot deal with his properties in Malaysia as the properties are now to be dealt
by the Official Assignee of Singapore.