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Mom, son cheated of land and
house
Malay 20/8/2005 By Harny Abu Khair
Read the contents of any document before you sign it or get someone to
explain it to you.
A mother and son learned this the hard way when they trusted a man who had
promised to find a buyer for their land in Chemomoi, near Bentong, Pahang.
Rubber tappers, V. Poovaye, 51, and her son, R. K. Vengadasalam, 27, lost
their land by signing a document which was actually an ownership transfer
form.
Not only did they lose their land, both mother and son may have to evacuate
their house in Negri Sembilan as it, too, was sold without their knowledge.
The duo sought help from DAP central executive member A. Sivanesan, who
acted as their lawyer in the case.
“In 2002, Poovaye and Vengadasalam were approached by two men who promised
to find a buyer for the nine-acre agriculture land,” said Sivanesan.
The duo were later asked to sign some documents purportedly to allow the two
men to find potential buyers, not knowing that one of them was an ownership
transfer document.
“By signing the document, Poovaye and Vengadasalam had unknowingly given the
land ownership to one of the men. It was also stated on the document that
the land value was RM230,000,” he said.
Sivanesan said on June 22 last year, the new owner sold the land to another
person for RM70,000.
Poovaye and Vengadasalam pressured the men for money and one of them issued
a cheque for RM13,700 to Poovaye as staggered payment. The cheque bounced.
Poovaye in 2003 also signed another document, not knowing that she had
actually mortgaged the house in Durian Tipus, Negri Sembilan.
The property has since been sold without their knowledge. “Now the new house
owner is asking Poovaye and Vengadasalam to move out,” he said, adding that
a police report has been lodged.
“This is a clear-cut cheating case. I urge the police to investigate the
matter,” he said. Sivanesan claimed such cases are rampant, especially among
the old and illiterate.
“Under the National Land Code, victims can be compensated as the properties
were sold below the market price,” he said. |
