(delivering the judgment of the court):

Facts and background

Boonsom Boonyanit, the appellant before us, is a Thai national. She resides in Thailand, but visited this country from time to time. During her visits, she was always accompanied by her eldest son, Phiensak Sosothikul (PW2). She was -- until the occurrence of those events to which we will refer in a moment -- the registered proprietor of the land held under Lots 3606 and 3607, Mukim 18, in the Town of Tanjung Bungah, Pulau Pinang (the land). But she is no longer on the register. It is the respondent company which is at present the registered proprietor. This change in the ownership of the land occurred in the following way.

In late October 1988, one of its directors, Mr Fong Wah Tan (DW1), was approached by one Mr Lim Chan Hwa (DW2) of CA Lim & GE Tan Sdn Bhd, valuers and estate agents. DW2 asked DW1 if the respondent would be interested in buying two pieces of land having beach frontage. The land was identified as the property that was available for purchase. The asking price was RM30 per square foot. There was some negotiation after which the price was agreed at RM22 per square foot. Lat