Justice Roz Mawar Rozain said the charges, initially set at RM15,000 per unit, before it was reduced to RM8,000, were “indeed arbitrary in nature”.
The judge also ordered Lim Keng Peo — the liquidator appointed for wound-up developer Mammoth Empire Land Sdn Bhd — to pay a total of RM12,000 in costs to the 73 plaintiffs.
Roz Mawar said the burden of providing a breakdown of the verification charges lay with the liquidator, which he had failed to discharge on a balance of probabilities.
“As there was an absence of any proof of the verification charges by Lim, this court orders that he shall execute or cause the second defendant (the developer) to execute a valid and registrable memorandum of transfer,” the judge said.
She also ordered that the transfers be executed within one month from the date of the court’s sealed order.
The plaintiffs had sought a declaration that they were not obliged to pay the verification charges imposed by the liquidator.
A total of 584 out of 628 units of Empire Residence in Sungai Buloh, Selangor had been sold by the developer.
Records show that of the project’s 628 units, 270 units had been fully completed and vacant possession was duly delivered by the developer to the respective purchasers.
The remaining 358 units were left uncompleted or abandoned.
On Jan 10, 2022, Lim was appointed liquidator after the developer was wound up by the High Court in Penang.
The developer had been left with cash assets of RM599,567.38, while claims of its unsecured creditors stood at about RM180 million.
In November 2023, Lim issued a letter requiring that the plaintiffs pay RM15,000 as verification charges to enable him to execute the necessary documents to transfer the purchased units.
However, one month later, the charge was reduced to RM8,000 as a “gesture of goodwill”. The new rate had to be paid by June 5 last year, failing which it would revert to RM15,000, the latter said.
Lawyers Ranjit Singh and Yeoh Cho Kheong represented the plaintiffs, while Lau Kee Sern and Leong Xin Wen acted for the liquidator.