first draft: wed 2nd Mar 2016
KOTA KINABALU. A senior citizen from Kg Hungab
Anthony Lojuta 91, successfully sued for the return of his land in Penampang
which he was trying to sell for RM1.65 million. He trusted and handed over the
original land title to his nephew when told that the buyer was Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, the present Chief Judge
of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak.
He was also requested to put his thumb print on a
blank white paper for the purpose of processing the payment into his bank
account at Donggongon. In Aug 2013 he went to check his bank account and found
only RM50 thousand banked in thus making him initiate actions in suing seven
defendants for the return of the said land, after he found at the land office
that the said land was already transferred to the 1st defendant whom
he never met before for a sum of RM500,000 of which he never received.
After three days of trial on 27 Aug 2015 and 22 to
23 October 2015, reading the counsel’s Submissions and clarifications, High
Court Judge Ravinthran N Paramuguru delivered his Draft Judgement in Open Court
as follows:
1. The 1st, 2nd,
3rd and 4th Defendants are liable for having committed
fraud against the Plaintiff, which resulted in the transfer of the Plaintiff’s
Land NT 2131484760 to the 1st Defendant ;
2. In addition the 4th Defendant is
liable in negligence against the Plaintiff ;
3. There is no finding of collusion or
fraud by the 5th Defendant with the 1st, 2nd,
3rd or 4th Defendants, however the 5th
Defendant is found liable in negligence in attesting the thumb-print of the
Plaintiff based upon the 3rd Defendant’s assurance;
The judge therefore ordered as follows:
(a)
The transfer of the land NT 213184760 registered under memorial no. 2110015957
dated 23 August, 2014 is declared fraudulent and therefore null and void ;
(b) The 1st Defendant is
ordered to surrender the original title deed to the land NT 213184760 to the
Plaintiff’s solicitors, within 2 weeks from the service of the sealed Order ;
(c) The 6th and 7th
Defendants are ordered to expeditiously transfer back the Land NT 213184760 to
the Plaintiff ;
(d) The Plaintiff is to refund to the 1st
Defendant RM50,000.00 which was deposited into his account by the 1st
Defendant, upon the re-transfer of NT 213184760 to the Plaintiff ;
(e) The 1st and 4th
Defendants are ordered to jointly pay to the Plaintiff costs of RM50,000.00 ;
(f) The 2nd and 3rd
Defendants are ordered to pay costs of RM5,000.00 each to the Plaintiff ;
(g) And the 5th , 6th
and 7th Defendants are to pay costs jointly of RM5,000.00 to the
Plaintiff.
Counsels Marianne and Dominic Ghani for plaintiff will
also filed a non-attendance of the 2nd and 3rd defendants
who did not file any defence.
The defendants in order are Clarence Sipain, Edward John
Bruno Lojuta @ Tiwot, Avictus @Ronnie Lojuta, Oswald Sipain (lawyer and brother
of Clarence), Ali Hussin bin Taha (former Land Supervisor at Penampang),
Assistant Collector Land Revenue Penampang and Lands Survey Department.
Bulagang and Co appeared for 1st and 4th
defendants, while Asiah Mohd Yusof from State Attorney appeared for 5th,
6th and 7th defendants.
Present in court during the verdict was the
plaintiff’s daughter Ogina while none of the defendants appeared.
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