Rigby J:

This is a bankruptcy petition presented by Messrs. Sri Sundari Palayakat Co. against the firm of Chop Yew Seong alleging that the said Chop Yew Seong are indebted to them in the sum of $7,342 and that the said firm committed an act of bankruptcy within the meaning of s. 4(1)(j) of the Federated Malay States Bankruptcy Enactment by giving a written Notice dated the 16 May 1957, to their creditors that the said firm was about to suspend payment of its debts.

The debtor firm carried on business in Sungei Patani, Kedah, and the alleged partners of that firm resided in Kedah. Whilst it is true that this Court, sitting in Penang, has jurisdiction to hear this petition, I have already expressed the view, to which I adhere, that on grounds of practical convenience - including the administration of the bankrupt's estate by the Official Assignee - it is generally desirable that s. 4(2) of the Bankruptcy (Transitional Provisions) Ordinance, 1946 should be complied with and the petition presented "to the Court in the State in which the debtor has resided or carried on business for the longest period during the six months immediately preceding the presentation of the petition".

So far as the debtor firm itself was concerned the petition presented no difficulty and a Receiving Order was made against the debtor firm by this Court on 8 July 1957.

The petition, however, was also served on one Yeow Par Seong, as being a partner in the firm, and these proceedings are only concerned with the opposition entered by Yeow Par Seong, whom I will hereafter refer to as the respondent. That opposition is based on the contention that as from the 1 October 1956 the respondent had retired from the firm and that the debts relevant to these proceedings were incurred by the debtor Company between the 17 December 1956 and the 15 April 1957.

The petitioning creditors seek to justify their action as against the respondent by production of a certified true copy of the particulars furnished to the Registrar of Businesses under the Registration and Licensing of Businesses Ordinance (No 12 of 1953). That Ordinance has, of course, now been repealed by the Registration of Businesses Ordinance, (No 47 of 1956), but for the purposes of these proceedings the repealed Ordinance is the relevant Ordinance. In the particulars submitted to the Registrar of Businesses by the debtor firm, in compliance with the express provisions of the Ordinance itself, the names of the partners in the debtor firm are stated as:

1. Yeow Yew Ming; 2. Yeow Yew Wah; 3. Yeow Teoh Seong; 4. Yeow Par Seong.

The date of that certified copy is shown as the 8 June 1957. Mr. Thillaimuthu, for the petitioning creditors, quite rightly relied upon that certificate as prima facie evidence that all the persons shown therein, including, of course, the respondent, were partners in the debtor firm at the date of the alleged act of bankruptcy, namely, the 16 May 1957. The respondent sought to rebut that presumption that he was a partner in the debtor firm at the time of the act of bankruptcy by producing in evidence a copy of a letter dated the 4 October 1956, addressed to the Registrar of Businesses, Kuala Lumpur, which reads as follows:-

Business Registration No. 44704.

Dear Sir,

We have the honour to inform you that we are no longer the sharing partners of Chop Yew Seong, 22, Jalan Dewa, Sungei Patani, Kedah as from the 1 October 1956.

As regarding the future registration of the above Chop, please delete our names in the record of Registry.

Thanking you in anticipation.

That letter is then signed by:

Yeow Yew Ming, Nric No K 119124, Yeow Teoh Seong, Nric No K 116457, and Yeow Par Seong, Nric No KM 117613 of 22, Jalan Dewa, Sungei Patani, Kedah.

Postage of a letter dated the 4 October 1956 addressed to the Registrar of Businesses, Kuala Lumpur, is supported by a registered postal receipt with the Post Office chop dated the 4 October 1956, upon it. The respondent himself, who is,