Former Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo ( below ) yesterday finally paid up around RM11,000 to the Shah Alam City Council (MPSA), after he was served a notice to settle three years’ worth of house assessment for his multi-million ringgit mansion in Shah Alam.

NONE An aide to mayor Mazalan Mohd Noor refuted news reports that Khir’s controversial residence was sealed off by the council following the state opposition chief’s failure to settle his house assessments.

“His house was not sealed off; he was just served a notice to settle six terms (two terms a year) of his house assessment yesterday.

"He was given one working week to settle the amount, but I believe he has already settled the outstanding payment,” the aide said when contacted.

Malay daily Berita Harian today published a story on Khir being served a notice of closure on his residence for not paying his house assessment for three years.

The paper quoted Khir as saying that he was not served any notice prior to yesterday and neither was he at home to receive the notice.

khir toyo mansion 060709 06 “I have already settled the payment. This is just a case of an oversight and I hope it will not become an issue,” he told Berita Harian .

The story however sparked a flurry of stories in the Chinese media today, many of which played up the issue by claiming that Khir’s residence ( left ) had been sealed off for failure to pay his assessment bills.

Khir’s mansion was the focus of much controversy last year when it was claimed that his posh residence had cost RM24 million, including building and the cost of two parcels of land 0.2 hectares and 0.1 hectares each.

He had since countered the allegations saying that the total cost of construction of his mansion in Section 7 Shah Alam was RM3.5 million, and not the alleged RM24 million price tag estimated by backbenchers in the Selangor state assembly where the issue was first raised.