There are certain things that you cannot do if you have been declared a bankrupt:

1. You cannot be nominated or sit or vote in Parliament or on any of its committees or be appointed or act as Judge, Magistrate or Justice of Peace.
2. You cannot sue or defend any action (other than an action for damages for personal injury) without permission from the Official Assignee.
3. You shall once in every 6 months give to the Official Assignee, part of your income after deducting your own family's expenses, to pay back your debts.
4. You cannot leave Singapore without the permission of the Official Assignee or of the Court.
5. If you are named as a trustee, the Court will find a replacement or replace you. If you do so, it is an offence punishable with imprisonment up to 1 year or fine up to $5,000 or both.
6. You cannot act as a director of a company or directly/indirectly take part in the management of a company except with the permission of the Court.

You can apply to the Official Assignee for approval stating your reason and providing documentary proof such as a letter from your company etc. The Official Assignee will also consider allowing the bankrupt to leave the country on compassionate grounds, such as attending to relatives' funerals or visiting seriously ill family members etc.

Q: I am a flight stewardess and have been declared bankrupt. I just remembered that I forgot to inform the Official Assignee. I am now in Milan, What can happen to me?

A bankrupt who defaults in performing or observing the above provisions shall be deemed guilty of contempt of Court, and is an offence punishable by fine of up to $10,000.00 or imprisonment of up to 2 years or both. If you attempt to travel overseas without the Official Assignee's consent, you may be stopped from leaving Singapore by the comptroller of Immigration and your passport will be seized.

Although not a crime in itself, bankruptcy involves a change of status, and carries with it quasi-penal consequences, rendering the bankrupt liable to prosecution, as in the following examples of specific bankruptcy offences:

• Failing to disclose or deliver up property to the Official Assignee:
• Concealing, fraudulently removing or absconding with property;
• Making material omissions in any statements relating to his/her affairs;
• Failing to inform about a debt which he/she knows or believes to be false and which has been proved in his/her bankruptcy;
• Concealing, destroying or preventing production of books etc. relating to his/her property of affairs;
• Falsifying entries in such books;
• Fraudulently parting with or altering documents relating to his/her property or affairs;
• Accounting for his/her property by fictitious losses and expenses;
• Obtaining credit from any person without informing that person that he/she is a bankrupt if the amount exceeds $500.00;
• Engaging in any trade or business under a name other than the name in which he/she was adjudicated as a bankrupt without informing those persons with whom he/she trades, the name under which he/she was adjudicated as a bankrupt; and
• Incurring debts without reasonable expectation of paying them.

Secured creditors have a right to sell the property or goods if you do not continue to meet the payment when they fall due. If the property is worth more than the amount of money secured against it, any balance from the proceeds of sale after discharging the security will be used to pay a dividend to your creditors. However, secured creditors should realize their security within 6 months from the date of the bankruptcy order otherwise they will not be entitled to their claim anymore.

Q: My husband and I are currently joint tenants of our home. He was made bankrupt recently. What happens to our property?

You can change the ownership into tenants-in-common and you can deal with your own share in any way you want. The Official Assignee would not have objections to this arrangement.

Q: Can an undischarged bankrupt buy a 5-room flat?