MENGGATAL: A housewife managed to get a plot of land through a claim against a man, who insisted that the land belonged to him, at the Native Court here yesterday.
The three-member panel sitting chaired by Native Court Chief Meylin Roger Impau, who sat together with Native Court Chiefs Rocky Biniau Mabin and John Anthony, unanimously held that Stella Niluh, 36, is the rightful owner of the land as she had observed the proper procedure in acquiring it, by going through the village chief and obtaining a letter from him.
In their decision, the court also ruled that the Inanam villagers did not question Stella occupying the land there during a four-day period she spent clearing the area.
Apart from that, 56-year-old Peter Yong (the defendant) was ordered to remove the fencing he had put up surrounding the place and pay RM50 to the court.
In delivering its verdict, the court also addressed village chiefs who were present at yesterday’s proceeding to be mindful of land-procuring cases, given its rampancy.
Village chiefs and Native Court personnel alike were reminded to treat similar cases with great care to ensure that the land in their respective villages is well taken care of.
The court added that there might also be those who were disrespectful to village chiefs and consciously trespass into their territories, which need to be dealt with accordingly.
Furthermore, village chiefs should take ownership of cases involving land matters in their respective villages by showing up for court proceedings, the court said.
Earlier, Stella informed the court that she had applied for the plot of land to build a house there, and its village chief had agreed to consign it to her.
Then, two weeks after she had spent RM3,200 clearing the area, Stella was abruptly informed that the land belonged to Peter, who is also the village chief’s brother.
She added that during her visit following the incident, she noticed that the plot of land had already been fenced in.
In reply, Peter argued that he had been tending the land since 2014 and had intended to excavate it but did not have the opportunity as he heard that Stella had already occupied the area.
Peter went on to explain that the land had been left to his siblings by his late father, but that the latter did not put it down in black and white in the form of a will.
However, to a question by the court, Stella said that the land was unkempt, dotted with fruit trees and strewn with large rocks when she had first gone to inspect it.
Although she admitted that the village chief had told her the fruit trees belonged to someone, she maintained that he did not tell her the land was someone else’s as well.