1986 Ed.]
Bankruptcy
[CAP. 6
83
Provided that a person who has not kept or has not preserved such books of account shall not be convicted of an offence under this section--
(a) if his unsecured liabilities at the date of the receiving order did not exceed, in the case of a person who has not on any previous occasion in Hong Kong or elsewhere been adjudged bankrupt or made a composition or arrangement with his creditors, $5,000 or in any other case $1,000; or (Amended, 47 of 1984, s. 16)
(b) if he proves that in the circumstances in which he traded or carried on business the omission was honest and excusable.
(2) A prosecution shall not be instituted against any person under this section except by order of the court. (Amended, 33 of 1939, Supp. Schedule, G.N. 840/40)
(3) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed not to have kept proper books of account if he has not kept such books or accounts as are necessary to exhibit or explain his transactions and financial position in his trade or business, including a book or books containing entries from day to day in sufficient detail of all cash received and cash paid, and where the trade or business has involved dealings in goods, statements of annual stock-takings, and (except in the case of goods sold by way of retail trade to the actual consumer) accounts of all goods sold and purchased showing the buyers and sellers thereof in sufficient detail to enable the goods and the buyers and sellers thereof to be identified. In the case of books or accounts kept in the Chinese language a person shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed not to have kept proper books of account if he has not kept such books or accounts as may be proved to be usual and necessary, for the purposes aforesaid, in the particular trade or business carried on by the debtor.
135. If any person who is adjudged bankrupt, or in respect of whose estate a receiving order has been made, after the presentation of a bankruptcy petition by or against him, or within 6 months before such presentation, quits Hong Kong and takes with him, or attempts or makes preparation to quit Hong Kong and take with him, any part of his property to the amount of $100 or upwards, which ought by law to be divided amongst his creditors, he shall (unless he proves that he had no intent to defraud) be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Amended, 47 of 1984, s. 16)
136. If any person against whom a receiving order is made conceals himself or absents himself from his usual or last known place of abode or business or quits Hong Kong, with intent to avoid service of any process in bankruptcy or to avoid examination in respect of his affairs or otherwise to defeat, embarrass or delay any proceedings against him in bankruptcy, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. A person who, after the presentation of a bankruptcy petition
Bankrupt absconding with property.
1914 c. 59, s. 159.
Debtor concealing himself to avoid service, etc.