Claims do need greater backing
10/08/2006 NST

I REFER to the complaint by K.S. of Kuala Lumpur ("Long wait for strata title" - NST, Aug 1).

Although I was appointed the liquidator following an order of the High Court on Feb 24, in place of the Official Receiver, my appointment became effective only on April 28 after the court order was received.

A notice to all purchasers of Heritage Condominium to submit documents to the liquidator for verification to ascertain ownership of the units purchased prior to the transfer of the strata titles to the purchasers/beneficial holder was advertised in one of  the national dailies on June 5.

I believe K.S. responded through his solicitors and presented certain documents to us on various occasions in June and July but these were inadequate for verification.

I belive K.S met with our senior manager before he wrote to the Press and that the manager explained what other documents were required to complete the verification exercise.

It included, among other things, the full settlement of all outstanding maintenance charges and any outstanding purchase price.

In his meeting with the liquidator on June 13, K.S. was informed of the difficulties of the task the liquidator was facing as the books and records of the company, in particular, the purchaser's files were not released to the liquidator.

The liquidator has to rely on the purchasers to submit all relevant documents to verify their rights of claims and settlement of all amounts outstanding.

The liquidator's office has an experienced project team which includes a legal assistant and the liquidator himself to handle the verification exercise.

Despite our advertising the notice in one of the national dailies and circulating the notice to all the residents at the Heritage Condominium, the number of purchasers who have come forward with the required documents for verification is still incomplete for our transfer procedures.

Ler Cheng Chye
Kuala Lumpur