J. B. Jeyaretnam - Discharge From Bankruptcy

Discharge From Bankruptcy

On 25 October 2004, Jeyaretnam appealed for an early discharge from bankruptcy so that he could contest in the next general election. He appeared before a three-judge Court of Appeal, Singapore's highest Court, asking to be discharged. Representing himself during the two-hour hearing, Jeyaretnam appealed on the grounds that he wanted another chance to contribute to society. He offered to pay one-third of the more than S$600,000 he still owed his claimants. Thus far, he had paid less than S$30,000. The official assignee, Sarjit Singh, opposed Jeyaretnam's appeal, claiming that Jeyaretnam had lied about his assets and calling him "the most dishonest bankrupt I have ever come across". He said this because Jeyaretnam had not declared a property he had bought in Johor Bahru in Malaysia, worth more than S$350,000. At the same time, Davinder Singh, the legal counsel acting on behalf of eight of the claimants, argued that this case threw up issues far wider than Jeyaretnam's appeal. He said that if Jeyaretnam was discharged as a bankrupt, it could set a dangerous precedent and the courts could be flooded with similar appeals from bankrupts seeking early discharge.

Jeyaretnam was discharged from bankruptcy in May 2007 after paying S$233,255.78. He was reinstated to the bar in September that year.