Kopeks gets refund judgment over aborted land sale deal

KOTA KINABALU (Oct 2) : Sabah Government Employees Cooperative Berhad (Kopeks) has successfully obtained a favourable judgment from the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak at Kota Kinabalu in a civil suit concerning the recovery of RM6,495,288.26.

The claim was filed in 2021 following the termination of a Conditional Sale and Purchase Agreement (CSPA) between Kopeks and the vendors, namely Rosian bin Yahya, Pauziah binti Abd Ghani and Zaiton Maidin.

The agreement involved the sale of four parcels of land located in Putatan.

The trial of the case concluded in June 2024. During the proceedings, the defendants filed several applications, which were dismissed by the court, including:

A counterclaim against Kopeks, Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia (SKM) and the director of SKM Sabah, Datuk Kastian Dula. This counterclaim was dismissed by the High Court on 8 February 2023, allowing the trial to proceed in June 2024.

An application to amend the counterclaim, which was dismissed on 5 April 2024.

An application for the case to be summarily decided on points of law, which was similarly dismissed on 5 April 2024.

On September 30, the High Court judge, Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng, delivered the final judgment in favour of Kopeks. The court awarded Kopeks the sum of RM6,495,288.26, along with interest at the rate of 5% from the date of judgment, and costs amounting to RM20,000.

Kopeks was represented by legal counsel Jeyan Marimuttu, Mohd Azhier Farhan bin Arisin, Abdul Fikry Jaafar, and Vanessa J Marimuttu. The defendants were represented by Datuk Lawrence Thien and Valarie Lim.