Twenty-six Bukit Tinggi Estate residents obtained a temporary reprieve today when lawyers representing the landowners promised not to demolish their homes until the injunction hearing resumes in two weeks.
The residents are asking for an injunction to ensure their houses will not be destroyed until the dispute with landowners, Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd and its subsidiary Syarikat Jeleta Bumi Sdn Bhd, is settled in court.
Syarikat Jeleta Bumi is also their former employer.
The application was filed yesterday following the Kuala Lumpur High Courts decision on Monday to dissolve a temporary injunction order which was granted to the residents last week.
The hearing for the injunction before Justice Azmel Maamor in chamber today was however adjourned to April 30.
Lawyer R Sivarasa who is representing the residents said the hearing was postponed when the landowners lawyers, from Skrine & Co, requested for time to file in an affidavit in reply.
The plaintiff's lawyers also promised that the residents houses will not be demolished until the matter is heard again, Sivarasa added.
The residents were also represented by Charles Hector and Sharmini Thiruchelvam, who had earlier filed an affidavit in support of their application for the injunction.
English daily New Straits Times on Monday reported that Guthrie and Jeleta Bumi had filed a suit against 67 residents in Bukit Tinggi Estate, among others, to recover the land and sought an injunction to prevent the residents from staying in the area any longer.
It also reported that in their amended statement of claim dated Feb 28, the plaintiffs said they needed to deliver vacant possession of two lots of freehold land occupying 668 acres to a buyer under a Sale and Purchase agreement dated Sept 9, 1994.
Default judgment
Guthrie and Jeleta Bumi claimed that alternative housing and allowances had been offered to the residents. Some residents had since entered into consent judgments.
According to the plaintiff's lawyers, the plaintiffs obtained a default judgment against 22 residents on March 26 after the time stipulated for the residents to appear in court expired.
A default judgment is obtained when defendants fail to contest the action against them.
The legal firm also claimed that the residents failed to make known their presence in court for a hearing against them on March 19 and the hearing was adjourned until April 8.
Following the default judgment, the residents received notices that their houses would be demolished on April 9.
However, the residents obtained a temporary injunction to stop the plaintiffs from carrying their action from Judge Abdul Hamid Said on April 8 until it was dissolved on Monday.
Meanwhile, the residents have filed applications for a stay of execution and to set aside the default judgment. The hearing on these matters is scheduled on May 16.
The residents who are believed to have resided in Bukit Tinggi Estates for generations since colonial times, are claiming that they are the beneficial owners of the land.
