We refer to the letter, 'No clean slate for former bankrupt' (The Sunday Times, June1).

Under the law, bankruptcy orders and notices of discharge from bankruptcy have to be made public at the time they are issued. This is to provide notice to the general public as well as creditors who may have outstanding claims.

For the same reason, the names of bankrupts and discharged bankrupts are maintained in the online insolvency search service of the Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office (IPTO).

Since last year, the practice has been to remove the names of discharged bankrupts from the online insolvency search service six years after their discharge. A search conducted on these discharged bankrupts through IPTO's online search service will produce a nil result.

However, a credit provider, in considering whether to extend credit, may choose to access various search services to obtain the credit history of a potential borrower.

It is possible that search services other than IPTO's online search service may choose to maintain the names of discharged bankrupts even after six years of their discharge.

Mr Ramani Rajappan had previously written to IPTO on this issue and our officers had advised him accordingly.

Moey Weng Foo
Assistant Official Assignee
for Official Assignee