KUALA LUMPUR (July 7): Malaysian law considers gambling debts as “debts of honour” with no legal obligation to make good the debt.
Although a gambling debt may be lawful and enforceable in a foreign jurisdiction where it arose, it remains unenforceable in Malaysia because Section 26 of the Civil Law Act 1956 embodies the public policy of this country.
The Ipoh High Court has therefore ruled that it is bound by the Federal Court’s landmark decision in the Datuk Ting Ching Lee case that confirmed that gambling-related credit facilities are void ab initio (void from the very beginning) or not recognised.
High Court judge Moses Susayan allowed the appeal by 75-year-old judgement debtor Lee Fook Khuen to set-aside the bankruptcy…