K-Residence suit against Dutaland CEO to proceed in October

• The affected residents claimed alleged failure to establish a joint management body (JMB) within 12 months of delivery of vacant possession, the misuse of maintenance funds, as well as other misconduct in the management of the condominium.

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 18): The suit filed by 37 unit owners of K-Residence against developer KL Landmark Sdn Bhd and three others including Duta Land Bhd CEO Tan Sri Yap Yong Seong, will proceed through trial for six days beginning Oct 13.

This follows High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh having on Aug 11 (last Thursday) dismissing KL Landmark, Yong Seong and two others' application for a stay of proceedings, pending their appeal to the Federal Court.

As a result, Ahmad Shahrir fixed Oct 13, 17 to 21 to hear the suit, the affected residents said in a release to theedgemarkets.com.

Prior to this, KL Landmark, Yap, along with City Properties Sdn Bhd and Yap Wee Sean, who is a director of City Properties; and Yong Seong's son had managed to strike out the 2018 suit, only for the Court of Appeal to reinstate it back last Dec 14.

The appellate court in reinstating the suit had directed the matter to proceed to trial.

As a result, the defendants had filed a motion for leave to appeal before the apex court and sought the stay of the aforementioned hearing, which was dismissed by Ahmad Shahrir last Thursday in ordering the trial to proceed.

The 37 owners had filed the suit on Nov 14, 2018, for purported diminution in the value of their properties due to the mismanagement of the project.

Yong Seong, better known as Duta Yap, as reported in 2019, is a director at Olympia Industries Bhd, which wholly owns KL Landmark.

The affected residents claimed alleged failure to establish a joint management body (JMB) within 12 months of delivery of vacant possession, the misuse of maintenance funds, as well as other misconduct in the management of the condominium.

Yap, widely known as Duta Yap, is a director at Olympia Industries Bhd, which wholly owns KL Landmark.

The 37 unit owners claimed that KL Landmark had failed to establish a joint management body (JMB) within 12 months of delivery of vacant possession on July 1, 2008, pursuant to Section 4 and 5 of the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007.

The JMB was only established on June 15, 2018, that is 10 years after following numerous warnings from the Commissioner of Buildings.

The plaintiffs also claim that the defendants had managed the condominium and utilised the management funds in a manner that was in their own interests and to the detriment of the owners, and further alleged that two of the defendants had personally benefited from the manner in which the condominium development was managed, prior to the setting up of the JMB.

The plaintiffs were represented by Colin Andrew Pereira and Gary Wong Kin Wai of Messrs Goh Wong Pereira. KL Landmark Sdn Bhd was represented by Anantha Krishnan of Messrs Anantha Krishnan, whilst City Properties, Yong Seong and Wee Sean were represented by Kamraj Nayagam and Maya Gayathri of Messrs Mah-Kamariyah & Philip Koh.