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Following is a question by the Hon Ng Leung-sing and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services, Mr Rafael Hui, in the Legislative Council meeting today (Wednesday):

Question:

Section 42 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) provides that during the period beginning on the day of presentation to the court of a petition for a bankruptcy order and ending with the vesting of the bankrupt's estate in a trustee, any disposition of property made by the bankrupt is void. During that period, banks handling the accounts of the bankrupt on his instructions and other institutions or persons having financial dealings with the bankrupt may incur losses if they are unaware of such a petition. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether -

(a) it knows the existing channels through which the banks institutions and persons concerned can obtain the personal data of a bankrupt when a petition is filed in court for a bankruptcy order; whether it has assessed if such data are released promptly and if the released data can fully reveal the identity of the bankrupt so that the banks, institutions and persons concerned may avoid incurring any financial losses; and if the assessment result is in the negative, of the improvement measures it will adopt; and

(b) it has assessed if such channels are convenient, fast and low in cost, and if the assessment result is in the negative, of the improvement measures it will adopt?

Reply

Madam President,

There are two channels through which the banks, institutions and persons concerned can obtain the personal data of a debtor when a petition is filed in court for a bankruptcy order, they are -

(a) to make a search in the cause book of the High Court for bankruptcy proceedings; and

(b) to make a search with the Official Receiver's Office ("ORO").

The information available at the High Court reveals the debtor's name and last known address, but his/her identity card number will not be disclosed to preserve personal data privacy. The information can be made available on the day following the petition being filed. The ORO will, where data is available, provide a "matching" exercise for the searcher to confirm the debtor's name and identity card number. The identity card number of the debtor however would not be disclosed in the search report, again to preserve personal data privacy. The accuracy and comprehensiveness of records in the High Court and the ORO are dependent on the information supplied by the debtor/petitioner.

The above search channels are generally fast and convenient and have been frequently used. The fee chargeable at the High Court is $18 per search and at the ORO is $85 per search.

In response to a recent request made by the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB), the ORO is considering ways to enhance the existing search service. For instance, it is considering the feasibility of providing to the HKAB on a strictly confidential basis a list of individuals against whom bankruptcy petitions are issued together with their identity card numbers, subject to there being no objection from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data; that the HKAB members would confirm that the information so obtained would only be used to identify whether the individual is their customer and not for any other purpose; and that the costs for such services would be met by the HKAB.

End/Wednesday, November 17, 1999

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