The Taiping House Story: Malaysians Show Unexpected Kindness in a Touching Turn of Events
Four house owners were cheated by property developer KS Property Sdn Bhd after their house payment were found illegal. They almost lost their homes but managed to save it thanks to kind bidders.
By Mei Mei Chu — 28 Aug 2013, 05:09 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
House bidders help four owners save their house by not bidding
Houseowner and Jonathan Ng's mother Susan Cheong protesting outside the Taiping High Court.
Image via fz.comFour houseowners who were supposed to have their homes auctioned yesterday had a last-minute reprieve by none other than the bidders to their houses.
The potential buyers at the Taiping High Court auction house refused to bid for the properties of Jonathan Ng and his small group of victims who are victims of a procedural breach in the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (Bafia) and the National Land Code (NLC).
Prior to the start of the auction, Ng and the other victims including Wong Chun Mun, Megat Azmi and couple Ng Siew Imm and Lee Chek Chuan pleaded to the other bidders to not purchase their properties.
fz.com
"We have fully paid but they're trying to take our homes away! Please don't buy our houses"
"We were cheated of our homes. We have fully paid. But they're trying to take our homes away! Please! Don't buy our house, we don't have a place to stay!" begged a tearful Cheong.
It was a heart-wrenching scene when Ng's mother, Susan Cheong, broke in tears telling everyone that they have lived in their homes for 10 years and have become the victim of an alleged cheating scheme thought up by their property's developer, KS Properties Sdn Bhd.
fz.com
"Please don't fight with me when I start bidding"
Another victim, Megat Azmi also appealed for compassion, showing a picture of his ill baby, saying that he has not slept for month trying to raise funds for his house.
fz.com
"Please, please… I just want my house back… Please… please don't fight with me when I start bidding," said Megat Azmi, who finally caved in to the demands of debt collection agency Gale Force Sdn Bhd by repurchasing his home.
"I have a family. I can't do this anymore. I don't want to leave my group but I have to think of my baby! I had to find ways to raise money again to repurchase my home!" said a tearful Megat whose bid for his own home cost him an extra RM162,000.
"We paid RM108,000 again yes but how many times must we go through this kind of pain?"
The bidders not only showed solidarity in not bidding for any of the Taman Suria Permai, Taiping houses that came up on the block but even tried to discourage Megat and couple Lee Chek Chuan and Ng Siew Imm from repurchasing their homes.
"How long can we suffer? This time around we are lucky no one wanted to contest against us when we began our bid. We paid RM108,000 again yes but how many times must we go through this kind of pain? We don't want to go through this again," said Siew Imm.
The four house owners were cheated by their property developer after their house payment was found illegal
fz.com first reported this incident on Aug 21, 2013, where at least six individuals might lose their homes due to procedural breaches in banking and land laws.
fz.com
Ng had paid for his house in full to the developer, through his lawyer. But the money was never paid to the banks which still held the house titles. Last year, the lawyer Tan Hooi Meng, 45, was found dead in Taiping.
fz.com
Lawyer pointed out that the transaction can be considered illegal as Maybank did not receive the consent of the houseowners, the Perak state authority nor the finance ministry. Thomas said these are breaches of the Banking and Financial Services Act (Bafia) and National Land Code.
fz.com
The developer, the late Koi Kim Seng, owner of KS Properties Sdn Bhd, also died under mysterious circumstances in 2008. His death was the catalyst of these problems to the house buyers of Taman Suria Permai.
fz.com
Their homes were repossessed, forcing them to leave the property
Six people, who are set to lose their homes despite having paid for their properties, was slapped with a gag order by the Taiping High Court on Aug 26.
fz.com
Representing his group, Ng told fz.com that during the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan Gale Force tried to force them out of their homes in Taman Suria Permai, Taiping, through by trying to cut off their electricity and water supply.
fz.com
On July 5, Gale Force's representatives and their lawyers brought Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Lembaga Air Perak (Perak Water Board - LAP), the court bailiff and police personnel to cut off supply to the houses which have been repossessed by Gale Force.
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