Abdul Malik Ishak J:

This was a proceeding for possession of land under O. 89 r. 1 of the Rules of the High Court 1980 ("RHC") by the plaintiff against the defendants as seen in encl. 3. There were several prayers in encl. 3 and a verbatim reproduction of those prayers should be made. They were:

(a) Plaintif diberi milikan kosong rumah ["Rumah tersebut"] yang didirikan atas sebahagian tanah yang dipegang di bawah hakmilik CT 2733 Lot 2103, Mukim Plentong, Daerah Johor Bahru, Negeri Johor, yang ditandakan sebagai "A3" pada pelan tanah dan yang gambarnya dilampirkan dan masing-masing ditanda sebagai 'A' dan 'B';

(b) Defendan-defendan dikehendaki mengosongkan Rumah tersebut dalam masa 14 hari dari tarikh perintah yang dipohon dalam permohonan ini diberi oleh Mahkamah yang mulia ini;

(c) Kos bagi permohonan ini dan kos sampingan baginya dibayar oleh Defendandefendan; dan

(d) Relief selanjutnya yang difikirkan adil dan suaimanfaat oleh Mahkamah ini.

Enclosure 3 was supported by an affidavit of Wong Chan Thong ("Wong") that was affirmed on 6 April 1998 and filed on the same date. Wong's affidavit can be seen in encl. 2 and there he deposed that on 15 August 1992 the plaintiff became the registered proprietor of a piece of land held in CT 2733, Lot 2103, Mukim Plentong, in the district of Johor Bahru, in the State of Johore ("land"). A photostat of the certificate of title to the land was marked as exh. "WCT-1". Wong deposed that the land was inspected and the plaintiff found houses that were built and occupied without the permission nor consent of the plaintiff. One of the houses was marked as "A3" in the layout plan (exh. "WCT-2") and as shown in the photograph (exh. "WCT-3"). Wong deposed that those persons that occupied the house as shown in the photograph did so without the permission nor consent of the plaintiff. Wong verily believed that those persons were illegal squatters who trespassed on the land and which trespass was still continuing. It seemed that the trespassers had trespassed on the land since the land was left unattended. On 17 February 1998 Messrs Leng & Co sent a notice to the occupiers of the house marked as "A3" in the layout plan to: (a) demolish and/or pull down the house/structure and thereafter clear and remove all debris from the land; and

(b) vacate the land,

at their own costs and expense within seven days from the date of that notice. That notice also carried in strong terms the following:

TAKE NOTICE that if you fail to do so within the time stipulated in this notice, our client will institute legal action against you for demolition of the house/structure and recover vacant possession of the land and to claim all losses; damage, costs and expenses that our client may suffer or incur without further notice to you.

It was deposed that the plaintiff's two clerks by the name of Abdul Aziz bin Abu Bakar and Md. Noor Azam bin Ahmad from Messrs Leng & Co together with an officer by the name of Mohd. Isa bin A. Rahman from the plaintiff attempted to serve the notice to the occupants of the house on 17 February 1998 but they were prevented and obstructed by an Indian man by the name of G. Manokaran a/l Govindasamy. The three personalities have since sworn a joint statutory declaration to that effect as seen in exh. "WCT-5" of encl. 2. That statutory declaration is a worthwhile piece of reading material. The relevant paragraphs of the statutory declaration are now reproduced:

2. We were instructed and authorised by Cahaya Ideal (M) Sdn. Bhd. and its solicitors, Messrs Leng & Co., to serve the notice dated 17.2.1998 ["the Notice"] on the occupiers of the house/structure unlawfully erected on part of the land held under Lot 2103 Mukim Plentong and identified as "A3" in the Notice ["the Said House"].

3. We did on 17.2.1998 at about 2.30 p.m. try to serve a similar notice to quit on the occupiers of the house/structure identified as "A1" but was stopped by one Indian man who identified himself as