SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Randolph Khoo, See Chern Yang, Tan Ei Leen and Sharon Ki, Drew & Napier
• order for bankruptcy or winding-up. Order for seizure and sale of property
applicant money (not being wages or salary) that it presently owes to the enforcement respondent, whether immediately or at some future date (such as a deposit) (Order 22 Rule 2 (c) of the ROC 2021). It effectively places the non-party in the position of an assignee of the enforcement respondent. This enforcement method does not apply to money standing to the credit of an enforcement respondent in court (see Order 22 Rule 5 (1) of the ROC 2021). Instead, a separate summons application may be taken out for such money to be paid to the enforcing party. Order for committal An enforcing applicant may apply for an order for committal if an enforcement respondent fails or refus - es to perform an act required by an order or judgment (Order 23 of the ROC 2021). The purpose or effect of the order is to penalise or sanction the committal respondent for non-compliance with the judgment, whether by way of a fine or imprisonment. This rem - edy is grounded in the public interest of protecting and upholding the administration of justice in Singapore. An application for permission to apply for committal must first be filed by way of an originating applica - tion without notice or a summons without notice sup - ported by affidavit evidence (Order 23 Rule 3 of the ROC 2021). If permission is granted, an application for the committal order must also be made through a summons within 14 days and personally served on the committal respondent (Order 23 Rule 4 of the ROC 2021). The application will generally be heard in open court (Order 23 Rule 7 (1) of the ROC 2021), and the criminal standard of proof will apply. The court will ultimately retain discretion as to whether to grant the order for committal. Order for bankruptcy or winding-up An enforcing applicant may also apply to wind up cor - porate debtors or to bankrupt individual debtors that fail to satisfy judgment debts. Such proceedings are not technically regarded as enforcement methods as they are not always based on judgment debts. How - ever, they may be effective in persuading a debtor to comply with a money judgment – although appli - cants should always exercise caution as they may be
This mode of enforcement involves the seizure and sale of such property belonging to an enforcement respondent as may be sufficient to satisfy a judgment debt (Order 22 Rule 2 (a) of the ROC 2021). Both movable and immovable property may be seized, except for the following types of property (Section 13 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969): • wearing apparel, bedding, and tools and imple - ments of trade that do not exceed SGD1,000 in value; • tools of artisans or implements of husbandry nec - essary to enable the judgment debtor to earn his or her livelihood in the court’s opinion; • wages or salary of the judgment debtor; • pension and gratuities or allowances granted by the government; and • the share of the judgment debtor in a partnership, as to which the judgment creditor is entitled to proceed to obtain a charge under any provision of any written law relating to partnership. The sale of seized property must be conducted by an auctioneer and by public auction if the seized property is immovable property or if the estimated value of the seized property exceeds a particular limit. If not, the sale may be conducted by the sheriff and may be by private treaty or by public auction. Different limits apply under the Revoked Rules (Order 46 Rule 24) and the ROC 2021 (Order 22 Rules 7 (4) and 7 (5)). Order for delivery or possession of property An order for delivery or possession (Order 22 Rule 2 (b) of the ROC 2021) authorises the sheriff to seize and deliver movable property or give possession of immovable property in the possession or control of an enforcement respondent. Orders of this type relating to immovable property are usually served on a tenant by a landlord, requiring the tenant to leave the prem - ises by a certain time. Order for attachment of debt This is an order for a non-party (such as an employer, bank or financial institution) to pay to the enforcing
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