Expose opens a can of worms on crooked lawyers
29/05/2007 NST

KUALA LUMPUR: More stories of unscrupulous and crooked lawyers have come to light following the expose on lawyers being investigated for criminal breach of trust.

• A couple who put up their home for sale and appointed a lawyer to see the deal through said the house was sold for RM64,000 but they never saw a sen.

Wong Yit Mee was happy when her house in Bahau, Negri Sembilan, was sold but the lawyer disappeared.

In April 2005, Wong and her husband signed a sale and purchase agreement, after which the lawyer informed them the payment would be made shortly.

The couple was surprised when the bank informed them that the payment of RM64,000 had been made.
Wong contacted the lawyer who said the payment would be sent to her once the deductions for legal fees and stamp duties were made.

The lawyer then issued her a cheque for RM56,000 but the cheque bounced.

A second cheque issued to Wong by the lawyer for RM60,000 did not bounce but payment was stopped by the lawyer.

Wong lodged a report at the Bahau police station after the lawyer disappeared.

• In April 2005, Lin Ah Hoi put an advertisement in the newspapers to sell his Proton Perdana.

He was contacted by a man who introduced himself as a partner in a legal agency who offered to buy the vehicle on behalf of a client.

Lin said he went to the lawyer’s office and filled out a Road Transport Department change of ownership form.

The lawyer gave him a cheque for RM47,500, which he could only deposit after the transfer.

However, when the 42-year-old home-repair contractor banked the cheque, he was shocked when informed that the cheque had bounced.

He contacted the lawyer, who promised to pay him within two months.

In February 2006, the lawyer issued Lin another cheque but Lin found the account was closed and the lawyer had left the firm.

Lin then lodged a report at the Brickfields police headquarters and with the Bar Council.