Monday, June 10, 2013

Roger Tan: The stink of injustice

Roger Tan revisits Adorna case...

"After reading all the judgments related to this case, I too was troubled by the following facts revealed in there:

> Two police reports were lodged – on July 12, 1989 by lawyer Ooi Chooi Li from LKSC and on July 22, 2002 by Kobchai but there has not been a whisper from the police since 1989, especially its Commercial Crimes Department.

> The impostor made the first statutory declaration on June 18, 1988 claiming that she, Sun Yok Eng @ Boonsom Boonyanit had lost the Form 14A. She made the second statutory declaration on April 6, 1989 claiming that Mrs Boonsoom Boonyanit (the impostor) and Sun Yok Eng @ Boonsom Boonyanit were the same person, even though with a different Thai passport number.

A day later, the impostor signed the memorandum of transfer (“MOT”) in favour of Adorna, not before her lawyer from KOC, but in the presence of Arifin bin Awang, then an Assistant District Land Administrator of Bukit Mertajam. Arifin (now a Datuk) is now the Director of Land and Mines of Penang but he was never called as a witness in any court proceeding. The MOT also revealed when the said lands were transferred to Adorna, final title for Lot 3606 held under Grant (First Grade) Registration No. 28476 had also been issued. All this took place in just a matter of months! In fact, Vazeer held in his judgment that by not calling Arifin to testify in court, an adverse inference could be drawn under section 114(g) of the Evidence Act 1950.

> According to Lim Chan Hwa of CA Lim & GE Tan Sdn Bhd, valuers and estate agents, he was first asked by one Fong Wa Tan, a director of Adorna, to do a valuation of the said lands some time in July 1988. (But Fong testified that he was first approached by Lim in late October 1988 regarding the said lands.) Lim also testified in court that he was also first asked by one Victor Joseph Dass of Messrs Victor Real Estate Agency to look for a purchaser for the said lands. The sale option by the impostor was dated Nov 13, 1988 and this was given to Lim’s company through KOC under cover of their latter dated Nov 11, 1988. In this letter, it also referred to two ACTs (advance certificate of titles).

This means ACTs for the said lands had even been issued before the sale and purchase agreement was signed on Dec 15, 1988 (SPA). In the SPA, the impostor was represented by KOC. The impostor put her address in the SPA as under the care of one Saifi bin Daud of No. 8, Taman Fauziah, Jalan Satu, 01000 Kangar, Perlis. Her signature was attested by lawyer Khor Kheng Loon from KOC. But Victor and Khor were not called as witnesses in any court proceeding.

> According to Cheong Wai Meng, lawyer who acted for Adorna in the sale and purchase, the purchase price of RM1,865,798 was fully paid to KOC on April 17, 1989. The advertisement in the Thai newspaper was dated on June 11, 1989. The first police report was made on July 12, 1989. As Khor was not called as a witness in court, no evidence was proffered as to who eventually received the purchase price from Khor and when was this done and through what means.

It follows that the police have a lot of explanation to do for being more than tardy in investigating the most infamous land forgery case in Malaysia."

More:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/6/9/focus/13217535&sec=focus

To laymen like myself, 'why the culprits could get away?' I thought there is no time limit where frauds are concerned.
Link

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