Gunn Chit Tuan J:

The defendant, Mr. G. Rethinasamy, an advocate and solicitor practising at Butterworth under the name and style of Rethina and Company, was sued by the plaintiffs abovenamed for negligence and breach of contractual duty as their solicitor.

It was not disputed that on or about 12 June 1976, the plaintiffs consulted the defendant as a solicitor in his office and engaged him to act for them in the purchase of Holding No. 809, Mukim 2, Province Wellesly Central, Penang, (hereinafter referred to as "the said land") from one Haji Hassan bin Abdul Rahman. The defendant prepared a sale agreement that day and the sale was completed on 6 August 1976. It was averred by the plaintiffs in their statement of claim and admitted by the defendant in his statement of defence that it was an implied term of the engagement that the defendant "should exercise all due skill and care while acting for the plaintiffs". The said land had in fact been acquired by Government under s. 8 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1960 and the acquisition was gazetted in a Gazette Notification No. 23 dated 1 February 1973. The plaintiffs were awarded and paid sum of RM14,000 in 1977 by the Government