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of the red |
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| Shau
Wei has received accolades for
excellent service delivery. |
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As at April 2005, there are more than 22,000
bankrupts in Singapore. Such cases come under the
purview of the Ministry of Law’s Insolvency
& Public Trustee’s Office (IPTO) of which
Tan Shau Wei is an employee. Get to know this corporate
support officer who handles 900 insolvency cases
at a go!
IPTO categorises all insolvent persons based on
their conduct. Bankrupts who are compliant and make
regular instalment payments fall into the Green
Zone. They get to enjoy privileges in relation to
travel, running a business and buying/selling a
flat, just to name a few.
On the other hand, insolvents in the Red Zone, who
are uncooperative and irregular in their payments,
face many restrictions and take a longer time to
be discharged.
All of Shau Wei’s 900-plus cases are from
the Red Zone. As you can imagine, handling so many
of such cases can be very challenging. Yet this
softspoken and cool-headed public officer has a
way with his customers and finds his work very satisfying.
Shau Wei’s wide-ranging duties include monitoring
and pursuing insolvents’ instalment payments,
tracking their income and expenditure, checking
their Central Provident Fund Statement and passport,
processing their travel and GIRO applications, and
applying for their discharge.
Explaining the significance of his and IPTO’s
role, Shau Wei said: “My job is about the
financial rehabilitation of insolvent persons. Bankruptcy
can cause a lot of problems to a person’s
life. This office can help to rehabilitate them
so that they can get out of bankruptcy and reintegrate
into society.
“My work is meaningful because I help people
to make a fresh start
in life.”
Mr Lee (not his real name), who was recently discharged,
is one of the many cases that Shau Wei handled.
Faced with a debt of $1.7 million, coupled with
problems at work, Mr Lee felt very demoralised and
depressed. He even contemplated suicide in the initial
days of becoming bankrupt.
Shau Wei recalled: “He kept saying he was
useless and needed constant encouragement to maintain
a good payment record so that he could be discharged.”
Feeling sorry for his situation, Shau Wei patiently
listened to his problems and continually offered
his support and encouragement.
As a result, Mr Lee was motivated to pay his instalments
promptly. In view of his cooperation and good payment
record, Shau Wei put up his case to the High Court
and Mr Lee was subsequently granted an early discharge.
When he received the good news, Mr Lee was so elated
that he turned up at IPTO the next day and kept
thanking Shau Wei and his colleagues who had worked
on his case.
There are times when Shau Wei meets trying cases
as well. For instance, he often encounters frustrated
bankrupts who raise their voice at him when he sends
them notices to pay their instalments.
When that happens, Shau Wei finds that staying calm
and positive helps to defuse the tension and gain
their cooperation.
“I tell them: ‘Try your best to pay
the instalments so that you can move into the Green
Zone and get discharged. After you are discharged,
nobody will monitor you. If you’re interested
in doing business, you don’t have to get permission.
When you look for a job, you don’t have to
worry about declaring that you’re an undischarged
bankrupt.’ So I tell them the advantages and
focus on the good things,” he said.
With such a positive and gentle approach, it is
no wonder Shau Wei has earned many compliments for
good service delivery.
Nonetheless, he maintains that his greatest job
satisfaction comes from helping his customers to
start afresh.
“It’s like doing a kind deed,”
he simply said with a smile. |
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