shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level five or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment. [Section as amended by Act No. 22 of 2001] 268 Examination of directors and others at meeting of creditors (1 ) At any meeting of creditors of a company wound up and unable to pay its debts, the Master or other officer in the Public Service presiding thereat may call and administer th e oath to any director and any other person present at the meeting who was or might have been summoned in terms of subsection (2) of section two hundred and sixty-seven, and the Master, such other officer, the liquidator and any creditor who has proved a claim against the company or the agent of any of them may interrogate a person so called and sworn concerning all matters relating to the company or its business or affairs, whether before or after the commencement of the winding up and concerning any property belonging to the company: Provided that the presiding officer shall disallow any question which is irrelevant and may disallow any question which would prolong the interrogation unnecessarily. (2 ) In connection with the production of any book or document in compliance with the summons issued u nder subsection (3) of section two hundred and sixty-seven, or at an interrogation of a person under subsection (1), the law relating to privilege as applicable to a witness summoned to produce a book or document or giving evidence in a court of law shall apply: Provided that a banker at whose bank the company in question keeps or at any time kept an account shall be obliged to produce, if summoned to do so under subsection (3) of section two hundred and sixty-seven, any cheque, promissory note or bill of exchange in his possession which was drawn or accepted by the company within one year before the commencement of the winding up, or if any cheque, promissory note or bill of e xchange so drawn is not available, then any record of the payment, date of payment and amount of that cheque, promissory note or bill of exchange which may be available to him or a copy of such a record and, if called upon to do so, to give any other information available to him in connection with such cheque, promissory note or bill of exchange or the account of the company. (3 ) The presiding officer shall reduce to writing or cause to be reduced to writing the statement of any person giv ing evidence under this section. (4 ) Any evidence given under this section shall be admissible in any proceedings instituted against the person who gave evidence. (5 ) Any person called upon to give evidence under this section may be represented at his interrogation by an accountant or by a legal practitioner. (6 ) Any person summoned to attend a meeting of creditors for the purpose of being interrogated under this section, other than the directors or other officers of the company, shall be entitled to such witness fees, to be paid out of the funds of the company, as he would be entitled to if he were a witness in any civil proceedings in a magistrates court. (7 ) If any director or other officer of the company is called upon to attend any meeting of creditors he shall, if the Master so approves and subject to a right of appeal to the court, be entitled to an allowance out of the funds of the company to defray his necessary expenses in connection with such attendance. (8 ) Any person interrogated under this section who refuses, on any ground other than that the answer may tend to incriminate him, to answer any question, save any question which the presiding officer may see fit to disallow, put to him shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level five or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment. [Section as amended by Act No. 22 of 2001] 269 Voidable and undue preferences (1 ) Every disposition of its property which, if made by an individual, could for any reason be set aside in the event of his insolvency may, if made by a company, be set aside in the event of the company being wound up and unable to pay its debts and the law relating to insolvent estates shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to any such disposition. (2 ) For the purposes of subsection (1), the event which shall be deemed to correspond with the sequestration order in the case of an individual shall be — (a ) in the case of a winding up by the court, the presentation of the petition, unless that winding up has superseded a voluntary winding up, when it shall he the passing of the resolution to wind up the company; (b ) in the case of a voluntary winding up, the passing of the resolution to wind up the company. (3 ) Any cession or assignment by a company of all its property to trustees for the benefit of all its creditors shall be void. 270 Application of certain provisions of the law relating to insolvent estates In the case of every winding up of a company unable to pay its debts—