28. Notice and information to be given on assignment of moneylender’s debts
Feedback & supportWhere any debt in respect of money lent by a moneylender or in respect of interest on any such debt, or the benefit of any agreement made or security taken in respect of any such debt or interest, is assigned to any assignee, the assignor (whether he is the moneylender by whom the money was lent or any person to whom the debt has been previously assigned) shall, before the assignment is made —
moneylender
“moneylender” includes every person whose business is that of moneylending or who carries on or advertises or announces himself or holds himself out in any way as carrying on that business whether or not that person also possesses or earns property or money derived from sources other than the lending of money and whether or not that person carries on the business as a principal or as an agent but does not include —(a)any body corporate, incorporated or empowered by a special Act of Parliament or by any other Act to lend money in accordance with that Act;(b)any society registered under the Cooperative Societies Act;(c)any person bona fide carrying on the business of banking or insurance or bona fide carrying on any business not having for its primary object the lending of money in the course of which and for the purposes whereof he lends money;(d)any pawnbroker licensed under the provisions of any written law in force in Singapore relating to the licensing of pawnbrokers; and(e)any finance company licensed under the Finance Companies Act.
give to the assignee notice in writing that the debt, agreement or security is affected by the operation of this Act; and
supply to the assignee all information necessary to enable him to comply with the provisions of this Act relating to the obligation to supply information as to the state of loans and copies of documents relating thereto,and any person acting in contravention of any of the provisions of this section shall be liable to indemnify any other person who is prejudiced by the contravention and shall also be guilty of an offence and shall in respect of each offence be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both:Provided that an offender being a company shall be liable to a fine of $5,000.
In this section, “assigned” means assigned by any assignment inter vivos other than an assignment by operation of law, and “assignee” and “assignor” have corresponding meanings.