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Following is a question by the Hon Alan Leong Kah-kit and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Ms Julia Leung, in the Legislative Council today (May 6):
Question:
I have learnt that with the recent economic downturn in Hong Kong, the numbers of applications for bankruptcy as well as loan default cases have been rising continuously. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) as debtors have to pay the Official Receiver's Office an administrative fee of approximately $9,000 upon filing a petition for bankruptcy, and many applicants are unemployed persons or recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance who generally cannot afford the fee, whether the authorities will exempt such persons from paying the fee or allow them to pay the fee by instalment; if they will not, of the reasons for that;
(b) as the authorities indicated in their response to a question raised by a Member of this Council on February 11 this year that the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau was following up on the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission's (LRC) Report on Stalking and would consider the feasibility of introducing legislative proposals, of the progress of the study; if the outcome of the study indicates that the recommendations of the Report cannot effectively regulate the illegal practices employed by debt collection agencies, whether the authorities will reconsider adopting the recommendations of the LRC report on The Regulation of Debt Collection Practices published in 2002; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and
(c) as under the existing legislation, a person who was discharged from bankruptcy years ago still has to repay his debts with the provident fund he receives upon retirement, and that a High Court judge pointed out in a decision made in the middle of last year that such an arrangement was harsh and considered that the Government should review and amend the existing legislation to extend retirement protection to such persons upon their retirement, whether the authorities will accept the suggestion to amend the law and revise the arrangement; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Administration's responses are as follows -
(a) With regard to fees, according to rule 52 of the Bankruptcy Rules, a debtor applying for bankruptcy shall, before filing the bankruptcy petition with the High Court, deposit with the Official Receiver an amount of $8,650 for the fees and expenses to be incurred in processing the bankruptcy case. Under the Bankruptcy Rules, the Official Receiver is not empowered under the relevant legislation to exempt the statutory fee or accept payment by instalments, hence the debtor has to pay the deposit in one go.
The level of deposit is set with reference to the range of expenses involved in processing a bankruptcy case, including the cost of publishing the bankruptcy notices in the Gazette and in newspapers, conducting case investigation (e.g. conducting searches in the Land Registry and Companies Registry, requesting financial information from the bankrupt's bank(s)), printing and postage etc., as well as manpower expenses. These expenses are all paid out from the deposit.
The cost of applying for bankruptcy should be borne by debtors themselves, and the need for subsidy by public money should be avoided as far as possible. We do not have any plan to change this arrangement.
(b) The nuisance caused to the public by improper debt collection practices is a matter of concern to the Administration. At present, a number of statutory provisions are already in place to combat illegal debt collection practices of debt collection agencies. The Police will continue to robustly enforce the law, and have adopted various measures to enhance the effectiveness of enforcement actions in order to combat illegal debt collection activities in a proactive manner.
The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) is studying the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission (LRC) Report on Stalking. The recommendations are applicable to different forms of stalking behaviour, including harassment in relation to debt collection activities. As LRC's recommendations involve complex considerations on various fronts (such as protection of personal privacy and press freedom), and have attracted diverse views from individuals and groups in the community, the Administration has to consider them carefully. CMAB is consulting relevant bureaux and departments, and will assess LRC's recommendations in the light of the latest development of anti-stalking legislation overseas. It will also consider how the relevant parties could be consulted on the LRC recommendations, with a view to reaching a consensus within the community on the way forward having regard to the need to balance the legitimate interests of all parties concerned. CMAB will report to the Panel on Constitutional Affairs of the Legislative Council after mapping out the proposed way forward.
Security Bureau will continue to closely monitor developments and, having regard to the result of CMAB's study of the Report on Stalking, consider whether there is a need to adopt other measures or regulatory means in support in order to enhance actions against improper debt collection practices.
(c) Regarding the case cited in the question (High Court Bankruptcy 1201/1998), as the bankrupt has already lodged an appeal against the judgment delivered by the High Court earlier and the appeal has been scheduled for hearing on July 2, 2009, it would not be appropriate for the Administration to comment on the judgment or the relevant arrangement at this stage.
Ends/Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:51
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