Singapore's Official Assignee and the Immigration and
Checkpoints Authority have responded to claims by Chee Soon Juan on
the SDP website that he was not allowed to leave Singapore to
attend a conference in Turkey on April 1.
Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, an ICA spokesman said
that on that day, Dr Chee presented himself to the immigration
counter at Changi Airport for departure clearance.
Dr Chee needed permission from the Official Assignee before he's
allowed to leave the country as he has been declared a
bankrupt.
But Dr Chee was unable to show that he had been granted permission
by the Official Assignee and so he was not allowed to depart.
In a separate reply to CNA, the Official Assignee's office stressed
that all bankrupts have to obtain the approval of the Official
Assignee before they can travel out of the country .
If a bankrupt is cooperative in the administration of his
bankruptcy affairs, he will be granted approval immediately.
If, however, there are outstanding matters pertaining to his
bankruptcy administration, his application to travel will not be
approved until all these matters are dealt with by the Official
Assignee.
In Dr Chee's case, the Official Assignee said Dr Chee was told by
the bankruptcy officer that he should not leave the country without
prior approval of the Official Assignee until his affairs in
bankruptcy are resolved.
Despite this, Dr Chee informed the officer that he will proceed to
travel, indicating his intention to deliberately break the
law.
So to ensure that Dr Chee does not leave the country, the Official
Assignee directed the Controller of Immigration to prevent him from
leaving Singapore.
Dr Chee's passport has been impounded and forwarded to the Official
Assignee. CNA/ir
