Number Of Debtors Committed By Court To Civil Prison Under Section 6(1), 6(3) Or 15(1) Of Debtors Act In Past 10 Years

Under the Debtors Act 1934, the Court has the power to commit debtors to civil prison on the ground of inability to pay their judgment debts. I feel that the vesting of such a power is outdated. Hence, I asked the Minister for Law in Parliament as to how often this power has been invoked in the past 10 years. As it turns out, based on MinLaw’s check on a best-efforts basis, there has been no record of any orders for committal to civil prison since 2013. Data prior to 2013 is not readily available. This allows me to advance an argument in the forthcoming Committee of Supply debate that the Government consider updating the Debtors Act and abolish the provision providing for the power to send debtors to jail for their inability to pay their judgment debts.

Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Law in the past 10 years ending on 31 December 2021, how many debtors were committed by a court to civil prison under section 6(1), 6(3) or 15(1) of the Debtors Act on the ground of inability to pay their respective judgment debts or failure to furnish security for appearance in court in relation to civil proceedings against them.

Mr K Shanmugam: Such orders are not specifically tracked. A manual review of data in the Courts’ e-Litigation system on a best-efforts basis showed no records of any orders for committal to civil prison under the Debtors Act under section 6(1), 6(3) or 15(1) from 2013 to date.

Data on applications made under the Debtors Act prior to 2013 is not readily available.