JUDGMENT Gopal Sri Ram JCA:

This appeal raises several interesting points of law. In the main, it has to do with the role of equity in adjectival law. At the heart of the appeal is the scope and application of the doctrine of res judicata.

This case has a long and chequered history. But it must be told. Otherwise the arguments of counsel cannot be understood. I will try and tell it as briefly as possible.

The respondent, Scotch Leasing Sdn. Bhd., is a private limited company over which receivers and managers have been appointed. But its name is misleading. It is not a leasing company at all. It is, in fact, a licensed moneylender. Its business is therefore regulated by the provisions of the Moneylenders Act 1951 ("the Act").

The story begins as long ago as January 1983. In that month, the appellants borrowed a sum of money from the respondent. It was a loan of RM150,000. Interest was charged. But the transaction was disguised in the form of an agreement to lease a fictitious item of moveable property. Additionally, the respondent took a charge over a piece of land. That land belonged to the appellants. In the language of the National Land Code 1965 ("the Code") they are it