RE YUEN OI YEE LISA

cacv 62/2008

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF APPEAL

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 62 OF 2008

(ON APPEAL FROM HCB NO. 8954 OF 2007)

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RE: YUEN OI YEE LISA

EX PARTE: LAM KIT SEONG MIRANDA

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J U D G M E N T

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Hon Rogers VP (giving the judgment of the court):

1.  We have heard the parties this morning.  It would be impossible for us finally to get to what has happened.  But one thing is clear, that the letters written on behalf of the Official Receiver must have caused some consternation with regard to working out our order.  Whereas the order that we have made was that if the judgment sum was paid off within seven days, the bankruptcy order would be discharged, once a letter came from the Official Receiver two days later, saying that the total debts were $1.2 million and that the bankruptcy order could not be discharged, one can only understand that that caused tremendous consternation.  One could hardly think that a litigant in person would not be thoroughly put off by this letter, which should never have been written.  The attempts on behalf of the Official Receiver to correct that, unfortunately, in my view, were not sufficient. 

2.  So then we are left with what do we do today.  It seems to us that the right thing to do is to give Miss Yuen, if she so desires, until the end of this week to have the sum of $529,701 paid off, which the petitioning creditor was complaining has not been paid, and we have heard him this morning.  To avoid any confusion, what we are going to say is that if that money is paid into court by 4 pm on Friday this week, then the bankruptcy order will be discharged.  That sum can then be transferred to the petitioner’s solicitors without more ado immediately.  The money is not to be paid to Miss Lam.  It is not to be paid to the solicitors.  It is to be paid into court and then there will be no argument as to whether it was from a bad bank account or what it was from.