A 62-year-old undischarged bankrupt faces 207 charges for signing contracts without disclosing his bankruptcy status in Penang.
NIBONG TEBAL: A man who has been declared bankrupt pleaded not guilty in the Jawi Magistrate’s Court today to 207 counts of conducting business and entering into contracts by signing documents without disclosing his bankruptcy status.
Tang Wee Tat, 62, was charged with, as an undischarged bankrupt who had not been released by the Director-General of Insolvency or the court, conducting business or entering into business contracts by signing six Letters of Award and 201 items of official correspondence as a director of Global Max Resources Sdn Bhd with Lien Dak Engineering Sdn Bhd, without informing the other party that he was an undischarged bankrupt.
The offences were allegedly committed between May 10 and Aug 21, 2023, in relation to the six Letters of Award, and between Nov 26, 2021 and May 6, 2024, in relation to the 201 other official letters, in Batu Kawan, Seberang Perai Selatan.
All 207 charges were framed under Section 109(1)(m)(ii) of the Insolvency Act 1967, which carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Investigating officer Inspector Ain Najwa Abdul Nasser, who handled the case, proposed bail of RM5,000 for each charge and applied for all the charges to be heard jointly.
Lawyer K. Thangesvaran, representing the accused, requested a minimal bail amount on the grounds that his client is a kidney patient and has been declared bankrupt since 2017.
He also informed the court that the defence had no objection to the prosecution’s application for all 207 charges to be heard jointly, as they arose from the same transaction.
Magistrate Nurul Aina Ahmad allowed the accused to be released on RM60,000 bail for all the charges and also granted the prosecution’s application for all the cases to be tried together.
The Court fixed July 28 for mention.
