(Oral)

Gopal Sri Ram JCA:

This is the judgment of the court.

The defendant is and was at all material times the registered proprietor of a piece of property off Jalan Ipoh. It is a 4 1/2 - storey shop house. The ground, first and second floors were used for commercial purposes. They were designated as such at the time the building was constructed. For convenience we will call it "the subject property ".

The defendant wanted to sell the subject property. It engaged the services of Rahim & Co., a well-known and reputable firm of estate agents. Eventually, the estate agents introduced the plaintiff as the intending purchaser. At about the same time, Rahim & Co. prepared a letter setting out the terms on which the sale and purchase was to be carried out. The conveyancing Bar calls such a document "the proforma of sale ". The proforma in this case was dated 7 July 1992. In accordance with the usual conveyancing practice, a copy of the proforma was sent to the plaintiff and defendant respectively. The defendant signed its copy of the proforma on 10 July 1992. What that meant was that the defendant accepted the offer made to it to buy the property. It is in evidence that the plai