PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has affirmed a High Court decision to return a parcel of land in Port Dickson to its rightful owner, after it was transferred through a series of fraudulent transactions.
A three-judge panel led by Datuk S. Nantha Balan ruled that both Top ATC Industries Sdn Bhd and businessman Lee Kok Chian had failed to prove they were bona fide (genuine) purchasers of the land, which had been fraudulently transferred by an imposter posing as the registered trustee.
The appellate court also upheld the High Court’s order for the land to be re-registered in the name of its rightful owner, Cheok Lam Chuan, who filed the suit after discovering the illicit transfer in 2018.
On Jan 21, 2016, the subject land was fraudulently “transferred” to Fu Zhi Mao Group Sdn Bhd before the latter entered a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Top ATC Industries on Feb 24, the same year.
On March 29, 2016, (barely 6 days after the transfer of the land), Top ATC Industries entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Lee.
The transfer of the subject land took place on Nov 1, 2016.
“Apart from the sinister conclusions that are to be derived from the suspicious timing of the transaction between Fu Zhi Mao Group and Top ATC Industries, there is the added fact that the latter had failed to prove that it had made any payment to the former.
“Lee ought to have suspected that the previous transaction could be fraudulent due to the short timeline of sale of the land.
“He should have undertaken the ordinary precautions and investigations as a reasonable and prudent purchaser.
“However, Lee deliberately shut his eyes to the obvious and refrained from checking or making further inquiries about the earlier land transfer,” he said in his ground of judgment yesterday.
The court also upheld the lower court’s finding that neither Top ATC Industries nor Lee had acted in good faith in their dealings over the land transaction.
The court also held that the Negri Sembilan Registrar of Titles and Director of Lands and Mines were negligent for failing to detect or prevent the fraudulent registration.
The appellate court affirmed all the lower court’s orders, including:
-Cancelling the registration of the land in Lee’s name and restoring it to Cheok.
-The award of RM100,000 in aggravated damages against Top ATC and Lee.
-An order for both parties to pay RM50,000 each in legal costs to Cheok.
-A cost order of RM10,000 against the two land officers.
Lawyers R. Manian and N. Raswanti appeared for Cheok while Lee and Top ATP Industries were represented by John Khoo Boo Lai, Wee Wai Keong, and Nurul Alia Afina Mohd Zaidi.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
