A122
Ord. No. 29/80
MONEY LENDERS
MONEY LENDERS
Ord. No. 29/80
A123
Application for licence
and public
notification
of application.
Investigation
and lodgement
of applications.
(c) otherwise than in accordance with the conditions of a
(2) A licence shall be in the prescribed form.
ice.
of
8. (1) An application for a licence shall be made to the Registrar in the prescribed form and in the prescribed manner, and shall be accom- panied by the prescribed fee and a statement in writing containing the prescribed particulars in respect of the application.
(2) An application made under this section in respect of a body corporate may be made by any person authorized in that behalf by such body corporate.
(3) An application made under this section in respect of partners in a firm may be made by any such partner.
(4) The Registrar shall, in such manner as may be prescribed, give public notice of every application made under this section.
9. (1) Where an application is made under section 8, the applicant shall at the same time send a copy of the application to the Commissioner of Police, and the Commissioner of Police may cause an investigation to be carried out in respect of the application for the purpose of determining whether, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Police, there are grounds for objecting to the application under section 11.
(2) For the purpose of carrying out an investigation under this section, the Commissioner of Police may in writing require the applicant to produce for inspection such books, records or documents or to furnish such information relating to the application or any business carried on or intended to be carried on by him as the Commissioner of Police may specify.
(3) In respect of an application made under section 8, no step other than the registration of such application shall be taken by the Registrar prior to-
(a) the date on which a period of 60 days after the date on which
the application is made expires; or
(b) the date on which the Commissioner of Police notifies the Registrar that any investigation carried out under this section in respect of the application has been completed,
whichever is the earlier (in this section referred to as "the material date”).
(4) Where the Registrar or the Commissioner of Police intends to object under section 11 to any application for a licence, he shall, not later than 7 days after the material date, serve notice on the applicant of his intention to object and of the grounds of such objection; and where such notice is served by the Commissioner of Police, he shall send a copy thereof to the Registrar.
(5) Upon the expiration of a period of 7 days after the material date in respect of any application made under section 8, the Registrar shall lodge the application in the office of a magistrate ordinarily sitting in or nearest to the area where the premises used or intended to be used by the applicant as his principal place of business as a money lender are situated, together with a copy of any notice served on the applicant under subsection (4).
The Registrar shall give notice to the Commissioner of Police lodgement made under subsection (5).
10. (1) Where an application is lodged in the office of a magistrate Licensing under section 9(5), that magistrate sitting with 2 assessors (in this court. Ordinance referred to as "the licensing court") shall hear and determine the application in accordance with section 11.
(2) The magistrate shall be the presiding member of the licensing court.
(3) In determining any application lodged under section 9(5), the magistrate and each of the assessors shall have a vote but the decision of the licensing court shall be given as a single decision and shall be recorded in writing:
Provided that in the event of a difference between the members in deciding the application, the decision of the licensing court shall be that of the majority of the members.
(4) The Registrar shall be entitled, on request made at the office of the magistrate, to a copy of the decision of the licensing court.
(5) References in this section to an assessor are references to a person appointed to a panel of assessors under section 7A of the Magistrates Ordinance; and with respect to the selection and attendance (Cap. 227.) of any such person as assessor at any sitting of a licensing court, sections 7A and 7B of that Ordinance shall apply mutatis mutandis for the pur- poses of this section as they apply in relation to proceedings heard with an assessor under that Ordinance.
for licence.
11. (1) The licensing court shall fix a date for the hearing of an Determination application lodged under section 9(5) and shall give 14 clear days' notice of application of such date to the applicant, the Registrar and the Commissioner of Police; and the licensing court may adjourn the hearing to another date and from time to time as the licensing court may deem fit.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the licensing court shall grant a licence upon the hearing of an application lodged under section 9(5) except where-
(a) the Registrar or the Commissioner of Police has served notice under section 9 of his intention to object to the application and, at the hearing of the application, objection to the application is made by or on behalf of the Registrar or, as the case may be, the Commissioner of Police; or
(b) objection to the application is made by any other person ap-
pearing at the hearing in person or by counsel who
(i) has served notice of his intention to object and the grounds of such objection on the applicant, the Registrar and the Com- missioner of Police and lodged a copy of such notice in the office of the licensing court, prior to the date fixed for the hearing under subsection (1); or
(ii) is granted leave by the licensing court to make such objection,
and for the purposes of this section "counsel" means a person qualified
barrister to practise as a
or solicitor under the Legal Practitioners (Cap. 159.) Ordinance.
(3) The licensing court shall not grant a licence to a person who is 'a disqualified person.