Property law #1: Landowners, beware!

A Thai woman found herself losing her valuable land in Penang, to a con-woman, who forged that Thai woman’s documents, and sold it to a third party. The Federal Court held that the rights of a bona fide purchaser must be protected. So, she lost her land.[1]

I’m not going to comment too much on the court’s decisions except the fact that this is a wrong decision where no one can change it besides the parliament. Many articles are available on this, do your own search on that case reference below, and you should be able to understand the whole case in detail.

It’s my duty however to share with you few tips on how to save yourself from con-man:


(1) Always engage a trustworthy lawyer ( solicitor ) to represent you
· Some lawyers are better in criminal cases (advocates), some lawyers specialize in intellectual property rights, and some lawyers are busier than others (always not in office). Always ensure your lawyer is well-versed in conveyancing cases and can always/readily attend to your case personally rather than his legal clerk. You might find this amused, but I’m telling you that many house purchasers or owners haven’t even got a chance to see their lawyers throughout the whole transaction, they only get to see the legal clerk!

(2) Always request for Quit Rent copies for MORE than one year
· Previously, we only request the most updated/current quit rent receipt in most instances. However, should you have any doubt on the land’s ownership, be brave to ask for quit rent receipt for the past few years as well. Normally, conman will have only one year receipt the most.

(3) Talk to the neighbours
· Before purchasing this land, do visit the said land for a couples of times yourself, to see if you can get a chance to speak to the neighbouring owners, or talk to people at the closest coffee shop you can find, ask them about the ownership of the land, you will be surprised, very often, you can get very good indication from them.

(4) Always caveat[2] your own property when necessary
· What do I mean by necessary? Do I caveat ALL my properties? No, you don’t have to caveat everything. If you have lands, which are free of any encumbrances, vacant and idle, please always engage a lawyer to enter private caveat[3] on your property on a regular basis (renewal is required after a fixed term).

· For your extra reading, the right of a registered proprietor to enter a private caveat against his own land under the National Land Code 1965 was considered in two recent decisions of the High Court, namely, Eu Finance Bhd v Siland Sdn Bhd[4] (M &J Frozen Food Sdn Bhd, Intervener) and Hiap Yiak Trading Sdn Bhd & Ors v Hong Soon Seng San Bhd[5]. For your information, these two cases’ decisions conflict with each other. For those of you who are too busy to go through these law cases, well, just take my word for it, always register a private caveat on your property when necessary.

(5) Charge your land to finance institution
-Always remember, land which are free of any encumbrances, vacant and idle are easy targets for conman. If there are bank charges on the land, your land are normally much safer. If you don’t mind, you may also consider taking up a small amount of mortgage loan from the bank using this land as collateral.

Until such time when the Boonsom Boonyanit’s decision being overturned or the emerge of a proper amendments to our National Land Code, we will always be exposed to the threats of land forgery/fraud cases and we are not protected at all by the court of law in our very own country. Henceforth, do consider doing the above pre-cautious steps I mentioned above.


© 9th March 2007 Lim Boon Ping

Note: This column is brought to you by Tiram Realty for your information only. It does not constitute legal advice. You should therefore seek professional legal advice for your specific needs. Neither the Tiram Realty and Lim Boon Ping shall be liable to any reader who suffers losses as a result of relying on this column.

[1] Adorna Properties Sdn Bhd v Boonsom Boonyanit @ Sun Yok Eng [2001] 1 MLJ 241
[2] In layman terms, i.e. to freeze your property from any dealings/transfer/transactions
[3] 323(1) of the National Land Code 1965
[4] [1989] 1 MLJ 1965.
[5] [1990] 2 MLJ 155.