Dear Vernon,

Normally, the employment contract will provide for notice to be given for resignation or termination.
Therefore, you need to find out whether there was any employment contract for your girl friend's employment in the beautician company.

Secondly, you need to confirm the required period of such notice.

The next step is to confirm whether a written notice was required for your girl friend's resignation. If a written notice of resignation was required under the employment contract but your girl friend did not give written notice, it may be detrimental to her.

In any event, the company is claiming for RM500 from your girl friend. Your girl friend claims that the company did not pay her salary. Both the company and your girl friend need to have proof to support their allegations respectively.

I suggest you to seek for further legal advice from a lawyer who can assist you in this matter more conveniently as further clarification on the facts is needed.

Thank you.

Goh Chuan Chean
Advocate & Solicitor

There are provisions in the Bankrupcy Act 1967 providing for the debtor to petition for bankruptcy against himself. These provisions are however rarely invoked. Most of the times, the bankrupt was adjudicated so by his creditor on a creditor's petition. In any event, the amount of debt must exceed RM30,000.00.

You can make yourself a bankrupt and will be 'protected' from being sued further by your creditors. However, your creditors can file proof of debt against you and will have a right to object should he apply for a discharge of bankruptcy.

All you property will vest in the Jabatan Insolvensi (previously known as Official Assignee) so you has no right to own any properties.

Once declared a bankrupt it would be an event of default which you bank can invoke to apply for an auction.

Leong Cheok Keng
Advocate & Solicitor

In respect of the employment matter it would be necessary to have a look at the letter of appointment and also to consider the circumstances.

A fixed term contractual employment is valid if it is genuine and not used to disguise an employment contract. In this case is the employment contract for this one term or has the company renewed the contract earlier?

If it is this one term and for a specific project then the contract comes to an end at the time specified in the contract.

However, if there are any reasons to belief that the company is in fact disguising an employment contract then the termination will be wrongful.

Deborah Kaur
Advocate & Solicitor

A joint petition requires both parties to sign the Petition and in the event one party does not wish to sign a joint petition cannot be filed. The reason why the wife does not want to sign has to be considered.

In the event the wife does not want a divorce a petition by the husband can be filed after obtaining the certificate from the registration Marriage tribunal.

Deborah Kaur
Advocate & Solicitor

Dear Mr. Siang Boon Goh,

There are a few things that you need to do:-

1) To monitor the winding-up proceeding against the
company, if there is any. If the company is wound up, the situation is worse for you as it will be more difficult to solve the problem. Therefore, it is better for you to ascertain the status of the winding-up proceeding and try to prevent the company from being wound-up. You may have to see a lawyer for better assistance and advice.

2) It is good that you saw the bank officer to discuss about re-financing. However, sometimes, you alone may not be able to convince or push the bank for a settlement arrangement. Apart from seeing that particular officer, I suggest that you try every effort to see a higher ranking officer in the bank such as branch manager or officer with higher ranks for negotiation. During the negotiation, try to ask experienced person or persons to follow and support you. Of course, you need to have the proof of the company's financial ability with you. Once again, assistance of a lawyer is needed if necessary.

3) If there is any inappropriate action done by that particular bank or officers in that bank in handling the situation, you may lodge complaint with Bank Negara. Again, you may need assistance from a lawyer if it is necessary.

I hope the above may assist you.

Thank you. All the best.

Goh Chuan Chean
Advocate & Solicitor

Dear Nurul,

Normally when a property has been auctioned off successfully, the previous owner need to pay the financier/bank the balance of the purchase price after deducting the price of the property which has been auctioned (correct me if I'm wrong pls).

In your case, the only thing you can do is to negotiate to settle the balance amount (which you said should be around RM24,000). Failure of making the payment will lead the Bank to initiate further legal action against you.

However, you may ask the Bank to give you an itemised calculation of the payment need to be paid. If there is already an action against you, you have to contact the lawyer appointed by the Bank to negotiate settlement.

Liza
Advocate & Solicitor

Dear Christine,

If you wish to make any arrangement to settle your outstanding debts, you can actually seek advise from the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency which was set up by Bank Negara Malaysia to provide assistance in managing your finances and debts. Their website is www.akpk.org.my or you may call their toll free number 1-800-88-2575.

Usually, when there is any action against you by the bank, the bank will normally send their demands or notices to you at your last known address. If you have not receive such letters or notices but is still concern then you may conduct a bankruptcy search at www.myeg.com.my.

Under the Bankruptcy Laws in Malaysia, any person who has been adjudge a bankrupt is prohibited from leaving the country i.e they have to surrender their passports to the relevant authority. However there are instances whereby a person can get special permission to leave the country from the relevant authority i.e immigration department, bankruptcy department etc. All assets of a bankrupt person will be frozen.

Normally, when a person is already a bankruptcy, he or she may face difficulties at some countries, but this also depends on the rules and regulations of each country.

If you have complaints against any banks in Malaysia, you may do so by contacting and writing to Bank Negara Malaysia.

Liza
Advocate & Solicitor

Dear Seong Jin Shiu,

Defamation arises when there is a publication which has a tendency to lower the person’s reputation or to cause him to be shunned or avoided by reasonable persons in society, and thereby adversely affecting his reputation; Tun Datuk Patinggi Hj Abdul Rahman Ya’kub v Bre Sdn Bhd [1996] 1 MLJ 393; Dato Musa Hitam v SH Alattas [1991] 1 CLJ 314.

What may lead to a tendency to lower a person’s reputation depends on the facts and allegations in each case, and their impact on the reasonable man. Mere feeling of hurt is insufficient for the award of damages for defamation.

In a defamation action (in your case libel is the precise description as it is in writing), it is essential that, you must prove the following 3 essential elements:-

(a) the words complained of were defamatory of and concerned you;
(b) the words referred to you; and
(c) the words had been published to a third person.

There is no universal test to be applied when it comes to defining a defamatory word. If you look at legal text on what are defamatory words, it is often described as follows:-

“…..a word is deemed to be defamatory if the right thinking man’s estimation of the plaintiff is lowered in general, or if the plaintiff is exposed to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or would cause him to be shunned or avoided, if the plaintiff is contemptible or ridiculed or degraded in the estimation of men whose standard of opinion which is recognised by the courts, or if interaction or association with him is hindered.”

The legal jargons may sound complicated to layman like you.

Let look at the following simple illustration: if Mr A tells Mr B that Mr C is a conman therefore beware of him. Publication arises when this statement is made to Mr B, and as this statement may cause a reasonable person to avoid Mr C, it is therefore adversely affects Mr C’s reputation.

So put yourself in the situation of Mr C, substitute “conman” above with what the negative things that the blogger wrote about you and see whether it will affect your reputation and as a result other reasonable man will avoid you, if the answer is yes, then it is most likely that the words is defamatory. But beware that not all negative things are defamatory; it must be something that affect your reputation and also depend on the context it is expressed. The issue of whether a word or words can carry a defamatory meaning is a question of fact to be answered by courts.

On the facts described by you, it seems that the negative words indeed referred to you and there is a publication. So if you could establish the words of defamatory, then you are able to bring a libel action against the blogger.

But if the blogger is able to adduce evidence to show that what he wrote is true or justification, then he would have a complete defence.

If you are aggrieved by the negative words, you are therefore advised to see a lawyer to ascertain whether you are able to bring a libel action against the blogger, there may be other cause of action such as the tort of malicious falsehood, it is really not appropriate to discuss the details in this public forum.

Suffice to says, many of us made some defamatory remarks against others almost everyday. For example, you tell your friends that your boss is a bankrupt. That’s slander of the boss. Or if you write in the blog that Mr A accepted “tea money”, that is libel of Mr A. But you don’t sue the person who defamed you on every occasion, it really depend on the context the remark is made.

In certain occasion, suing others for libel may backfire. A case in point is the 2 Britons who distributed leaflet against a large fast-food chain; it actually generated more negative publicity for the fast-food chain when the suit was heard in court, causing the fast-food chain more money to do damage control.

Ivan Chen
Advocate & Solicitor

Dear Robert,

First of all, you may apply to Court for bankruptcy through your solicitors, and your solicitors may charge a fee to commence such work.

As for a writ of seizure of Sale, kindly note that your creditor(s) would not be able to apply for a writ of seizure and sale unless they have first successfully entered a judgment against you in the civil court(s). Once they obtained the sealed judgment from Court(s), they may then apply to commence for an order of writ of seizure and sale against you. The procedure normally takes about months.

Once you are adjudicated a bankrupt by the Court, the following consequences ensue:-

a) you shall not leave Malaysia without permission from the Director General Office of Insolvency ("the Office") or of the court, i.e. your passport will be kept under the Office's custody;

b) you cannot without permission from the Office or the Court carry on / enter into any business either alone or in partnership or become director of a company or otherwise either directly or indirectly take part in the management of any company;

c) you cannot without permission from the Office or the Court control any business on behalf of your spouse, or siblings of your own or of your spouse;

d) you cannot maintain any court action against another party save and except for action for damages in respect of injury to yourself; and

e) you shall once in every 6 months render to the Office an account of all monies and property coming to your hands for your own use during the preceeding 6 months, and shall thereafter pay and make over the same monies or properties to the Office save and except that which is needed for yourself or your family.

Wallace Wong Hur Shiaw
Advocate & Solicitor