Tang Liang Hong declared a bankrupt
Straits Times. Feb 7, 1998
BY Ahmad Osman
THE High Court yesterday declared Workers' Party member
Tang Liang Hong a bankrupt, when he failed to pay $739,976 in damages
and interest he owed after losing the defamation cases brought against
him by People's Action Party leaders.
It granted the bankruptcy order sought by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's lawyers after Mr Tang, now in Melbourne, failed to pay the money owed to Mr Lee, who won three defamation suits.
Mr Lee sued Mr Tang for the remarks made against him by the WP election candidate shortly before and after the general election held on Jan 2 last year.
The defeated WP candidate, who fled Singapore after the election, was not represented by a lawyer at the brief hearing in the court's chambers yesterday.
The official assignee will now take charge of Mr Tang's financial affairs and all the assets in his name.
Creditors claiming payments from Mr Tang can submit their claims to the Official Assignee.
They include Mr Lee, the prime minister and nine other People's Action Party leaders who also sued the opposition lawyer for defamation and won a total of $3.63 million in damages.
The official assignee has to determine how much Mr Tang has, the amount he owes, as well as if there are people owing him money and decide how to apportion his assets to his creditors.
The major asset, the Tangs' single-storey family bungalow at 75, Hua Guan Avenue valued at $4.5 million, is the subject of another legal tussle.
Mr Tang's wife, Madam Teo Siew Har, claims the property, which is in her name, should not be sold off to settle her husband's debts.
The lawyers for the PAP leaders maintain that she is holding the property, which is mortgaged to OCBC Bank for an overdraft of $3.2 million, in trust for her husband.
The date for the court hearing to determine who owns the bungalow will be set after the Official Receiver, Mr Nicky Tan, has filed an affidavit by the end of this month listing any new assets he uncovers belonging to Mr Tang.
According to the initial Receiver's report in March last year, Mr Tang's other assets include four life insurance policies worth about $180,000, his law practice valued at about $178,000, bank accounts with about $81,000 and another $24,000 in two office accounts.
Mr Tang also has three country club memberships, two cars, and shares, but these were of no material value, said the Receiver.