United Overseas Bank v Fernandez: Bankruptcy Petition Appeal - Debtor's Ability to Pay Debts

United Overseas Bank Limited filed a bankruptcy petition against Victor Fernandez for $10,885.94 in credit card charges. The Assistant Registrar granted the bankruptcy order, and Fernandez appealed. The High Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the bank had complied with the Bankruptcy Act in raising the presumption that Fernandez was unable to pay his debts. Fernandez's arguments for more time to pay were rejected.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeal Dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Bankruptcy

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal against bankruptcy order. The court dismissed the appeal, finding the bank had complied with provisions raising presumption debtor unable to pay debts.

1.7 Decision Date

19 October 2003

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
United Overseas Bank Limited	Petitioner	Corporation	Petition Granted	Won	Low Yew Shen of Ng Chong & Hue LLC
Victor F A Fernandez	Debtor, Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Victor Fernandez of Independent Practitioner

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Lai Siu Chiu	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Low Yew Shen	Ng Chong & Hue LLC
Victor Fernandez	Independent Practitioner

4. Facts

United Overseas Bank Limited filed a bankruptcy petition against Victor Fernandez for $10,885.94.
The debt was for credit card charges incurred by Fernandez.
The Bank had obtained a default judgment against Fernandez on 20 December 2001.
Fernandez admitted owing the debt before the Assistant Registrar.
Fernandez was unemployed since December 2000 and had no assets apart from his CPF savings.
Fernandez proposed to pay monthly installments of $100 until 22 December 2003.
The statutory demand was served on the debtor on 29 March 2003.

5. Formal Citations

United Overseas Bank Limited v Victor F A Fernandez, Bankruptcy Petition 2095/2003/A, [2003] SGHC 246

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2001-12-20	Default judgment obtained by United Overseas Bank Limited against Victor Fernandez
2003-03-29	Statutory demand served on the debtor
2003-06-04	Interest calculated on the principal sum
2003-07-07	Debtor filed Notice of Objections to the Petition
2003-07-09	Affidavit of non-satisfaction filed by the Bank
2003-07-11	Adjournment of the hearing
2003-07-25	Bankruptcy order granted by the Assistant Registrar
2003-10-20	Appeal dismissed by the High Court
2003-12-05	Debtor to turn 55 years of age

7. Legal Issues

Ability to Pay Debts
- Outcome: The court found that the debtor had not rebutted the presumption that he was unable to pay his debts.
- Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

Bankruptcy Order
Setting Aside of Bankruptcy Order

9. Cause of Actions

Debt Claim
Bankruptcy Petition

10. Practice Areas

Bankruptcy
Debt Recovery

11. Industries

Banking
Finance

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Re Boey Hong Khim	High Court	Yes	[1998] 3 SLR 39	Singapore	Cited regarding the requirements for presenting a bankruptcy petition and proving inability to pay debts.
Medical Equipment Credit Pte Ltd v Sim Kiok Lan Alice & Anor Appeal	Court of Appeal	Yes	[1999] 1 SLR 70	Singapore	Cited in relation to the meaning of inability to pay debts under s 62 of the Bankruptcy Act.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Bankruptcy Act (Cap 20)	Singapore
Bankruptcy Act Cap 20 s 65(3)	Singapore
Bankruptcy Act Cap 20 s 62(a)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Bankruptcy Petition
Statutory Demand
Affidavit of Non-Satisfaction
Bankruptcy Order
CPF Savings
Insolvency
Contingent Liabilities

15.2 Keywords

Bankruptcy
Debt
Petition
Appeal
Insolvency
Singapore

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Bankruptcy	95
Banking and Finance	30
Contract Law	20

16. Subjects

Bankruptcy
Insolvency