KULAI, Aug 4 — In an effort to legally regain their lawfully purchased land more than 50 years ago, a group of 22 land owners lodged police reports here in support of their civil proceedings filed with the Johor Baru High Court.
The group, accompanied by their lawyers from Messrs Thomas Philip Advocates and Solicitors, filed the reports at the Kulai district police headquarters here at about 11am.
The police reports are part of the group’s efforts to regain rightful legal ownership of land that they had purchased back in the 1960s from Singaporean Lim Han Poh and Lim Han Poh Realty Co Ltd (LHPR).
At present, the estimated current market value of the land is worth more than RM65 million, and the 22 lots measure about 160 acres and comprise part of a 256-acre land in Kulai.
In a statement, Messrs Thomas PhiliIp said following the death of Lim at Singapore’s General Hospital in 1964, the High Court of Singapore issued a Grant of Letters of Administration to his son Heng How to oversee and manage his estate.
“While all 22 clients had rightfully purchased their lots from Lim, his authorised representatives or LHPR, in 2020 the Johor Baru High Court was misled into issuing an Order of Probate on Lim’s estate based on fraudulent representation by a Mohd Fadzil Khamis.
“In his application, Mohd Fadzil had claimed to be the sole beneficiary of an Indonesian national purported to be the late Lim who it was alleged had died in Yogyakarta in 2020,” read the statement.
Messrs Thomas Philip founder and managing partner Mathew Thomas Philip said their clients have filed police reports today in support of their application to the Johor Baru High Court to revoke the fraudulently obtained Grant of Probate.
“In support of the application, the Republic of Indonesia Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has confirmed that the purported passport details listed in the last will and testament of Indonesian national Lim Han Poh presented by Mohd Fadzil were in fact false,” he said.
Mathew added that once they have succeeded in rescinding the Grant of Probate, they are optimistic that the Johor Baru High Court will support its clients’ applications to have their claims as co-proprietors of the registered land.
He said this will then facilitate the subdivision of the land and ensure that each individual owner obtains a separate title for their land.
Beneficial owner and representative for the claimants, Yeoh Joey Keng said many of them have spent the past 50 years working tirelessly with the relevant authorities while waiting patiently for titles for what is rightfully their land.
“It was shocking and unbelievable to all of us that the process could be nearly stopped by blatant fraud.
“We hope justice will prevail and that we will receive our rightful land titles soon,” he said.
