D Heryati Abdul Rahim is claiming damages amounting to RM1 million from Lau Ban Tin and his wife, Mary Lee Siew Cheng.

Her lawyer M Moghan told reporters that Justice Hue Siew Keng made the decision in chambers after finding that there were issues to be tried by way of full trial.

He said the judge also held that it was not fit and proper for the case to be disposed of by way of point of law. The court fixed February 18 for the trial.

Moghan will be calling two witnesses, including Heryati herself, whilst lawyer Low Peck Lim, who is representing the defendants, said he has one witness.

Lau and Lee had previously applied to the court to dispose of the suit on point of law under Order 14A, the Rules of Court 2012.

On February 5 last year, Heryati filed the suit against the duo alleging failure on their part to transfer ownership of eight hectares of land in Jelebu to her based on an agreement made on June 20, 2000.

She claimed that at the time, she was still the wife of the former deputy prime minister and co-owned shares with him in the company Zamrudvest Sdn Bhd, which operated a franchise under ‘EON Dealers and Franchise’.

She claimed that around 2000, she and Ghafar decided to sell the business to the defendants at RM300,000.

The plaintiff claimed the transaction did not include sale of the land in Jelebu (owned by the company), and that ownership should have been transferred to her as soon as the individual grant was issued.

She further claimed that based on official Land Office records, it (land) was transferred to Lau on February 19, 2004, and on April 16, 2013, to Tengku Ramli Tengku Mohd Kamil.

She demanded that Lau return ownership of the land, or alternatively pay her damages amounting to RM1 million.

– BERNAMA