JUDGMENT

Peh Swee Chin SCJ:

The above 14 appeals were heard together. The same substantial questions of law and fact are involved. The 14 appeals have been lodged against the same order of the High Court made on 8 October 1991.

There is one appellant in each of the first 7 civil appeals as listed and set out above in Roman numerical symbols, except Civil Appeal No. 5 where there are 2 appellants instead and these two appellants are registered presently as proprietors of a piece of land. In the other 6 appeals, there is a sole appellant in each of them, each being registered presently as the proprietor of a piece of land. It will be seen that a piece of land is involved in each appeal, totalling seven pieces of land.

The sole appellant in each of the next seven appeals, i.e. appeals Nos 8 to 14 as similarly set out above is the same person, one Lee Geok Thye, a surviving trustee out of 2 trustees viz Lee Geok Swee (since deceased) and Lee Geok Thye in 7 trust deeds, the 2 original trustees were brothers and uncles to the respondents in the above 14 appeals. A trust deed is involved in each of those appeals concerning each of the 7 pieces of land stated earlier.

The respondents consist of 3 persons, viz George Lee, Lee Chong Hai and Lee Boon Guan, one or two of them jointly claim to be beneficiaries under each of the 7 trust deeds in respect of each of the 7 pieces of land respectively as stated above.

The common date of the 7 trust deeds is crucial; it is 17 June 1970.

It is inevitably necessary and also convenient to set out at least a copy of one of the trust deeds for the words therein, e.g. in appeal No. 8 above, for the trust deeds are identical except (1) for the variation in the names of the 3 brothers as beneficiaries, and (2) the variation in the lot numbers of the 7 pieces of land, each trust deed being in respect of each of the 7 pieces of land stated above. The trust deed to be set out for illustration is as follows:

Trust Deed

Know All Men By These Presents That We, Lee Geok Swee (I/C No. 1305051), both of No. 115, Jalan Yam Tuan, Kuala Pilah do hereby hold the whole of the land held under Qualified Title (R) No. 71, Lot No. 2039 in the Mukim of Pedas, District of Rembau trust for Lee Chong Hai and Lee Boon Guan.

In Witness Whereof We have hereunto set our hands on 17 June 1970. Signed by the said ) Lee Geok Swee and ) Sgd Lee Geok Thye, in ) Sgd the presence of ) ..........

Sgd (Mohd Yazid Baba) Advocate & Solicitor Seremban

The above 14 appeals arose out of the 7 civil suits mentioned above. In the 7 civil suits, the 3 said beneficiaries are the plaintiffs, suing either singly or jointly, for declarations, re-transfer of the 7 pieces of land, damages for fraudulent breach of trust allegedly committed by the 2 original trustees, (but only 1 of them, the surviving trustee, viz Lee Geok Thye was sued), in transferring the 7 pieces of land to the present owners of the 7 pieces of the land, in breach of the 7 trust deeds, (the present owners of the 7 pieces of land are hereafter called the present landowners and 7 pieces of land, the lands, wherever the context requires it).

Lee Geok Thye and the 7 present landowners deny the allegations and claim that when the 7 trust deeds were executed by Lee Geok Thye and the deceased cotrustee, (the trustees) were no longer owners of the said 7 pieces of land and thus all the trust deeds are void. The present landowners plead that they were purchasers of the lands or that in some cases they have acquired them bona fide or for valuable consideration from such purchasers of lands. All such original purchasers bought the lands before the date of the 7 trust deeds from the 2 trustees of the said 7 trust deeds.

No reason was given for having the 7 trust deeds done or signed, by any of the three beneficiaries, nor was the solicitor who witnessed the signing of the 7 trust deeds called. No cross-examination was also directed on this reason. It is common ground that no valuabl