When Bank Negara, Banks and Judges are corrupted - this happens

PETALING JAYA (Aug 20): In the midst of the festive season, at least six people in Taiping, Perak face the very real possibility of being put out in the streets due to procedural breaches in banking and land laws.

What makes matters worse for 31-year-old Jon Ng and his fellow sufferers is that they have fully paid for their properties but through a series of unfortunate circumstances, their homes will be auctioned off on Aug 27 by foreign-owned debt collection agency Gale Force.

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.

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.

"The court bailiff verbally said they have the court order. But when we asked to show the court order, the bailiff didn't have any black and white documentation.

"When we asked the order to cut electricity and water, she verbally said they had it.

"Obviously they didn't have black and white document because we went to the Taiping High Court after they left to do a file search, paid RM12 for it and the court officers said they need a black and white court order before they can cut the electricity and water supply," said Ng, whose effort to save his house has been documented and witnessed byfz.com.

Ng's household includes his 81 year old grandmother, Liew Moy Lan and his 58 year old mother Susan Cheong.

Other victims who are about to have their houses auctioned are: contractor Wong Chung Mun, 38, who has two fully paid houses, fishmonger Lee Chek Chuan, 39 and homeopathy consultant Megat Azmi, 39.

Apparently, Gale Force and their legal team; Shook, Lin and Bok had produced a letter signed by Taiping's High Court Deputy Registrar Raja Shahrin Anuar Raja Baniamin requesting the relevant authorities to cut off their water and electricity supply.

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.

"They came in the morning, when everyone was at work. They managed to cut off the electricity and water supply to four houses before coming to my house," said Ng.

He said it was after he showed them a letter from the Perak Land and Mines Office detailing that State consent needed to be obtained before utilities are disconnected that they desisted.

"The letter (delivered on July 2) stated that the Perak Legal Advisor has advised the Office and the Court that Gale Force must produce a state consent before they can try to seize our land, evict us or cut off our electricity and water supply. They could not produce a state consent or a court order.

"The other four houses had their water meter sawed off and electricity supply cut off. When we resisted they left," said Ng.

The situation became more curious as barely a week after their basic supplies were cut off, TNB and LAP proceeded to reconnect the water and electricity supplies to the affected houses on July 10.

When fz.com tried to secure an interview with all the relevant parties, we hit the proverbial brick wall.

Officers of Taiping's TNB and LAP were busy with "meetings and seminars".

High Court Deputy Registrar Raja Shahrin Anuar refused to speak to fz.com, while police officers tried to intimidate this reporter into leaving the court house.

A lawyer from Shook, Lin and Bok declined comment.

BACKGROUND

THIS episode is one of many breaches on the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (Bafia) highlighted since last year, where foreign owned debt collection agencies are selling of non-performing loans and taking the money abroad.

Since the mid-2000 up till June last year, an estimated RM60 billion has been taken out of the country via these means, although banking rules state the NPL companies buying over loans must be majority locally owned.

Apart from a denial, Bank Negara has kept a stoic silence - even when provided with evidence that some of these NPL companies were owned by local bankers with a majority stake held by offshore companies.

Even then, Bafia still requires the banks who are about to sell off their NPL to get the Finance Ministry, state government and the owner's consent prior to divulging any information pertaining to their customers.

In the Taiping case, none of the victims were informed and the bank in particular did not request their consent before submitting their names to Gale Force, which is already a clear breach of Bafia.

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THE JUDGE DATUK AHMAD NASFY YASIN HAD GAGGED THE OWNERS FROM SPEAKING.  ME THINK THIS JUDGE IS ALSO ON THE TAKE.

WHILE PDRM AND ZAHID TALK COCK ABOUT CATCHING TAIKOS (GANGSTERS), THE REAL CULPRITS ARE LAUGHING THEIR WAY TO THE BANKS.