Former nominated MP to stay a bankrupt

FORMER Nominated MP Chia Shi Teck on Wednesday lost his appeal against being made bankrupt but will hardly go through life as a pauper. 

In fact, in his own words, he will be a “million-dollar bankrupt.” 

This is because Chia, who just turned 55, will have a six-figure sum in his Central Provident Fund if he sells his terrace house in Loyang Rise, which was bought partly with his CPF savings. 

Since creditors cannot seize CPF funds, Chia can technically keep the money. 

Chia, once executive chairman of the Sesdaq-listed garment company Heshe Holdings, owed four banks about $17.5mil (RM37mil) and was declared a bankrupt on July 18. 

On Wednesday, his lawyer Jimmy Yim argued that it would not serve the creditors – DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, Maybank and Bank of China (BOC) – any good to have him made a bankrupt. 

But Rebecca Chew of Rajah and Tann, who represented creditor BOC, painted a different picture. 

She said that save for a few small payments, Chia had made her client wait for seven years “before the bank decided that enough was enough.”  

Justice Judith Prakash dismissed Chia's appeal and ruled that he should remain a bankrupt. 

Calling it a “very humbling experience,” Chia said that he had no choice but to “accept that I am a bankrupt now.” 

As a bankrupt, he is not obliged to sell his home, now estimated to be worth S$800,000 (RM1.7mil).  

He would have to return about S$840,000 (RM1.79mil) of the proceeds to his CPF account first, leaving nothing for creditors. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network  

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