TANG LING SDN. BHD. v CRSC PROPERTY SDN. BHD.
wa-12bncvc-56-06-2025 High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) 2 March 2026 • WA-12BNCvC-56-06/2025 • 12 min read
1 cases cited
(0 SG, 1 foreign)
Catchwords
Land Law — Trespass — Whether occupation pursuant to consent of previous registered proprietor constitutes trespass — Substation erected on land prior to purchase — Purchaser acquiring land with knowledge of existing structure — Effect of unregistered lease under Torrens system — Doctrine of indefeasibility of title — Whether indefeasibility renders continued occupation unlawful — Distinction between unlawful entry and lawful entry with consent — Whether continued occupation becomes trespass in absence of registered interest — Whether trial court erred in finding no trespass — Appellate interference — Findings of fact after full trial — Whether plainly wrong or misdirection in law — Bayangan Sepadu Sdn Bhd v Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran Negeri Selangor distinguished Civil Procedure — Third party proceedings — Indemnity and contribution — Whether procedural provisions (O.16 r.1(1)(c) Rules of Court 2012) create substantive rights — Requirement of legal foundation in contract, statute, tort or equity — Absence of contractual indemnity — No statutory or tortious basis — Whether failure to provide documents to register lease gives rise to equitable indemnity — Whether exposure to claim sufficient to ground indemnity — Whether third party proceedings sustainable where main claim dismissed Civil Procedure — Fourth party proceedings — Contingent liability — Whether fourth party claim survives dismissal of third party claim — Whether claim rendered academic — Requirement of underlying liability — Absence of independent legal basis for indemnity — Whether dismissal justified Appellate Practice — Scope of appellate intervention — Appeal from decision after full trial — Deference to findings of fact — Whether findings against weight of evidence or plainly wrong — Whether misdirection in law established — Proper approach of appellate court The Plaintiffs, as registered proprietors, brought an action in trespass against Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in respect of a substation erected on the land prior to their purchase. TNB’s entry was with the consent of the previous proprietor pursuant to an unregistered lease. The Sessions Court dismissed the claim, holding that trespass was not established, and consequentially dismissed the third-party and fourth-party claims for indemnity and contribution. On appeal, the High Court held that indefeasibility of title does not retrospectively render unlawful an entry made with consent, and the Plaintiffs failed to establish trespass. The Court further held that O.16 ROC 2012 is procedural and does not create substantive rights; in the absence of any contractual, statutory, tortious or equitable basis, the claims for indemnity and contribution were unsustainable. The appeals were dismissed and the decision of the Sessions Court affirmed
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Counsel (6)
Statutes Cited
Rules of Court 2012
Cases Cited (1)
MY (1)
[2022] 1 MLJ 701
Judgment
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