Professional Documents
Culture Documents
LAND
What is defined as LAND
What is land?
● a. surface
● b. earth below
● c. all vegetation (whether needs labour /
natural)
● d. all things attached to the earth
● e. land that is covered by water
s. 5 NLC 1965
● All of the above
Trespass to land
● Trespass to land is the intentional wrongful
entry and unreasonable interference with
another’s ownership or possession of the
land.
● Trespass can only be committed against
someone who has possession of the land.
● Actionable per se (Cheah Kim Tong v.
Taro Kaur)
Possession
● Only a person who has possession of the
land may make a claim in trespass to land.
● Trespass to land is founded upon
interference with the Plaintiff’s possession
of his property. It should be noted that it is
not merely ownership which gives rise to a
cause of action in trespass, but it is the
possession.
Possession eg:
● Land lord ● Tenant
(ownership) (Exclusive
possession)
However,
Possession will revert
back to LL once
tenancy expires
3 kinds of possession
● 1. Possession in law
● 2. Possession in fact
● 3. Immediate right to possession
1. Possession in law (de jure)
● Actual possession
● Hickman v. Maisey
● Pf’s land that was crossed over by a highway /
road
● Df was a racing tout
● Walked up and down the 15 yard stretch
● Taking notes of the trials of racehorses on the
pf’s land (spying)
● Held : Trespass – unreasonable use of highway,
he was not using the road for its purpose
Trespass to subsoil and
airspace
Hotel
bought
● Resp’s land By Appl
Pf’s land
-fire
Mistake ?
● Mistake is no defence –
MBF Property v Madihill Dev.
MBF Property v Madihill
● Mistake is no defence
Pf Pf
Defendant’s
REMEDIES
● What remedies can a plaintiff have if
someone has trespassed his land?
● Eg:
● Tenant refuses to move
● Developer encroaches your land
● Farmer allows cattle to graze on
neighbouring land
● 1. Damages
● 2. Injunction
Order by the court compelling the
defendant to do or refrain from doing a
certain act
3. Re-entry onto the Land (self help)
● A person entitled to possession can enter
or re-enter the premises and may use
necessary force.
● S. 7 Specific Relief Act – provides for
re-entry BUT must enter the land using no
more force than necessary to do so.
● Do not take law into own hands
● 4. Action for recovery of land (Ejectment)
● A person dispossessed of land can recover it by
an action for recovery of land.
● Provided by s. 7 and 8 SRA 1950
● S. 7 provides for self-help but if it is felt that more
force is needed, one should resort to the law.
● Case: Poh Swee Siang v Trustees of Leong San
Tong Khoo Kongsi (Kongsi case)
● Facts:
● Pf tenant since 1950 - 6 acres of land, vegetable
farm, gradually upgraded… house erected etc…
● 1976 given notice to move
● 1982 another notice
● Oct 82’ – Df brought 20/30 men and bulldozer –
demolished everything, threatened to forcibly
evict Pf, 1 female worker killed.
● Pf sued for trespass to land, to obtain damages
and injunction.
Decision
● In favour of the Df.
● Df has the right to repossess the land BUT
he should have done this by due process
of the law as provided under s. 7 SRA and
not by taking the law into his own hands.
● Court found that Df acted in a very high
handed manner and awarded;
● 1. RM150,000 exemplary damages
● 2. Special Damages
RM 42,000 water sprinkler system
pig sty
chicken coop
attap hut
RM 135,000 – loss of vegetable
produce
● S. 341 NLC - Adverse possession of land
for any length of time shall not constitute a
bar to bringing an action for recovery
(limitation period)
● 5. Mesne profit
Means : profits that were made by the
defendant during unlawful possession of
the Plaintiff’s land