Land plight far from over

The Star 14/9/2004 By CHOW HOW BAN

THE plight of 88-year-old Chin Ngee, whose 0.87ha plot of land had been transferred to two people without her knowledge, is far from over. 

Chin, who lives in Bandar Damai Perdana, Cheras, and her son, Hew Kee Yin, had made reports with the police, the Anti-Corruption Agency and the Bar Council has not been informed of any progress in the investigations. 

Chin with her land title.

Her problems began in March when she decided to sell the land to a developer and visited the Federal Territory Land and Minerals Office to replace her old and tattered land title. 

However, she was told the title to the land, with an estimated market value of RM3mil, had been transferred in January. 

“The land title has never left me. Some people have asked me whether I wanted to sell my land and I had made photocopies of the title to show them.  

“But I have never given my original land title to anyone,” she said at a press conference at the Federal Territory ACA office on Sept 9, adding that she had kept the title in her safe. 

Earlier, Chin, accompanied by Hew and Khong Chee Seng, special assistant to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, had met FT ACA director Chuah Chang Man.  

According to a Form 14A (transfer of land) signed between the two people and the landowner, the latter's name was also “Chin Ngee” but had a different Identification Card number and was supposed to be only 55 years old. 

Khong said the form showed that the transaction was done in the presence of a lawyer and there was a possibility that an officer from the Land and Minerals Department was also present. 

He urged both the ACA and the Land and Minerals Department to review the process of land transfers and conduct a thorough investigation. 

“Although the buyers might say they had signed official documents, our question is whether anyone had checked all the documents. Did they check with the National Registration Department to find out the landowner's identity?” he said. 

“We hope that ACA will investigate, especially officers who do not follow the right procedures, so that such cases will not recur,” he added.  

Hew said Chin would also seek legal redress against all parties who were involved in the transaction.