Man loses claim over disputed land at Kampong Kembangan

The High Court has thrown out a businessman's claim towards a piece of land which was once owned by his father and is now part of another property.

According to Justice Andrew Ang, the ownership of the subject 1,850 sq ft plot located in Kampong Kembangan has already been passed to Dr. Ng Tsorng Chinn and his wife.

The decision is based on the law of adverse possession, which states that a person was deemed to own the land if he had possessed or squatted on it for at least 12 years and had not received any notice of ownership from the land's original owner.

But this case is unique because the Ngs were not the owners of the property before the law of adverse possession was abolished in 1994.

When the case was heard in court last November and in January this year, the lawyers who represented the present owners argued that the law allowed for the transfer of land acquired through adverse possession by sale or other means.

Prior to the Ngs, five other people had been owners of the property. In 2001, the Ngs acquired the three-storey semi-detached house on over 5,000 sq ft of land, including the disputed plot.

The contested land is said to be valued at more than S$1.2 million.

The judge said that the Ngs are entitled to assert ownership rights while the deceased's title to the lot "was extinguished by adverse possession." Related Stories: Housing rents to increase around the world: Savills

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