GROUNDS OF JUDGMENT

Vernon Ong Lam Kiat J:

Mohd. Nasir Bin Moidu ('the plaintiff') was the registered owner of a piece of land. The plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the transfer of the land to Lee Swee Kim ('the defendant') is null and void because his signatures on the transfer documentation were forged.

Plaintiff's Case

The plaintiff was the registered owner of the land held under HS(M) 4755 Lot 1990 Mukim Tebrau Daerah Johor Bahru Negeri Johor ('the Land'). The plaintiff's case is that the defendant obtained the title to the Land through fraud and or fraudulent misrepresentation and or forgery. Sometime in February 1990 the plaintiff handed over the title deed to the Land at a lawyer's office to one Ah Heng as security for a loan of RM100,000.00 given to his brother in law one En. Abidin Bin Kadamun. Ah Heng agreed to hold the title deed in trust and to return it to the plaintiff after Abidin repaid the loan.

In 1993 the plaintiff received a notice from the Inland Revenue Department asking him to submit a real property gains tax form. After receipt of the notice the plaintiff went to the lawyer's office to ask why the Land had been transferred without his consent and kno