PUTRAJAYA, Jan 17 — The Court of Appeal today ruled that the former lawyers of a group of Orang Asli villagers have to return missing funds from a RM38.5 million compensation awarded in 2000 to the villagers for the acquisition of their land in Johor.

It unanimously dismissed appeals by the Orang Asli community’s former lawyer Dinesh Kanavaji a/l Kanawagi and his firm Khana & Co, ruling that the two remain liable for the misuse of the funds that were held in trust for the Orang Asli.

Court of Appeal judge Datuk Yeoh Wee Siam, who read the judgment, said those who were sued by the Orang Asli community have to pay up all the funds that were "misused, mismanaged or misappropriated”, but with the amount payable to be determined via audited accounts.

"However, in our view, the exact sum to be paid by the defendants to the plaintiff have to be identified and audited,” she said in the courtroom that was packed with at least 20 Orang Asli villagers.

Court of Appeal judge Tan Sri Idrus Harun chaired the three-man panel, which also consisted of Datuk Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.

On June 5, 2000, the High Court had ordered the Johor state government to pay RM38,554,111.92 to the Orang Asli of three villages in Kota Tinggi, Johor as compensation for the acquisition of their land for the building of Linggiu dam.

Of the amount, RM22 million was held under the Linggui Valley Orang Asli (Jakuns) Trust, and the remaining RM16,554,111.92 by Khana & Co and to be paid to the Orang Asli after legal fees and costs were deducted.

But the Orang Asli were not aware of the 2000 court decision until 2004, and had in 2009 sued to recover the money.

Lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar, who represented the 77 Orang Asli from the Jakun tribe, today said Khana & Co had paid out RM16.5 million of the RM38.5 million as legal fees to itself, two other lawyers and a foreign consultant.

"So the court rejected these payments and said they are liable to account for those payments, because there is no real acceptable evidence of that, and that the High Court was right in saying there’s no acceptable evidence,” he told reporters when met here.

"The court said he (Dinesh) also is liable to account for this money as the partner of the firm that was supposed to be acting for the trust,” he added, referring to the court’s decision over Dinesh’s claim to not being liable as he only joined the law firm in 2004.

With the Court of Appeal finding that Dinesh and his law firm had breached their duties, Gurdial said the judges now want the exact amount missing from the RM38.5 million to be identified and confirmed with an audit.

The Court of Appeal today delivered its decision over several appeals related to the money that the law firm was supposed to have managed for the Orang Asli community.

The trust for the Orang Asli villagers had sued over the use of RM7 million from the trust fund by Dinesh’s father Kanawagi a/l Seperumaniam to buy 27 condominium units at Lanai Gurney Heights Condominium in Kuala Lumpur in 2008.

Rental from the 27 units were then said to have been used to buy another 30 units at the same condominium under Dinesh’s name.

Renu Zechariah, a lawyer who appeared for the Linggiu Valley Orang Asli (Jakuns) Trust, said the Court of Appeal had in a judgment read out by Idrus affirmed and maintained the High Court’s previous 2016 ruling in her client’s favour.

The trust had sued over the condominium units which it said were purchased with its funds, with the High Court ruling then that the Linggiu Valley Orang Asli (Jakuns) Trust should be compensated about RM10 million and take over possession and ownership of the 57 condominiums.

"Today the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court judgment in favour of the Linggiu Valley Orang Asli (Jakuns) Trust,” she told reporters when met.

The seven sued — Virgin Properties Sdn Bhd, Virgin Properties’ director Ku Azhar Ku Abdul Razak, Dinesh Kanavaji, Kanawagi, Khana & Co, Riza Makhzan Arifin, Puteri Intan Nurul Arzian Abdul Aziz and Mampu Jaya Sdn Bhd — had appealed against the 2016 ruling.

On December 22, 2016, the High Court had found that the seven defendants were in breach of their fiduciary, contractual and constructive trust duties towards the trust, also ruling that they had "perpetrated a fraud and conspired” against the trust.

The High Court had in 2016 declared the Linggiu Valley Orang Asli (Jakuns) Trust as the owner of all 57 condominium units, and had also ordered the seven defendants to pay RM10,432,334 million in damages and RM500,000 costs to the trust.