Augustine Paul FCJ (delivering judgment of the court):

The claim in this appeal arose from the recruitment of the plaintiffs (the respondents before us), foreign workers from India, by the defendant (the appellant before us). The High Court gave judgment for the plaintiffs. This appeal is by the defendant.

The facts of the case as found by the learned trial judge are as follows. An agreement was entered into between Malaysia and India for the latter to supply expert and manual workers to work in Malaysia. In order to protect its citizens and to ensure that they obtain fair and reasonable wages and treatment, the Indian Government had imposed certain mandatory requirements which a prospective foreign employer must meet before the Indian Government would release its citizens for such employment. The prospective employer would have to submit the following documents:

(a)a demand letter for recruitment of workers from India;

(b)a contract of employment;

(c)a power of attorney;

(d)an affidavit from the employer.

The learned trial judge dealt with the requirements of these documents based on the evidence adduced.

(a) The Demand Letter

The letter was in the defendant's letter head and addressed to