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San Zang
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Published: Monday November 29, 2010 MYT 6:09:00 PM
Housewife, 61, freezes her husband's RM98.5mil in assets pending divorce
By M.MAGESWARI
KUALA LUMPUR: A housewife, 61, succeeded in her bid to get a temporary order from the High Court to freeze the her husband’s assets worth RM98.5mil. Fatimah Abdul Aziz, who is a former executive, was granted the ex-parte freezing order (mareva injunction) by High Court judge Justice Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal in his chambers on Monday.
A Mareva injunction is a court order preventing a defendant from transferring or selling assets until the outcome of the suit is decided. Speaking to reporters, her lawyer K. Shanmuga said the judge was satisfied that Fatimah had an arguable case and there was a risk of the assets being disposed off. "She filed the suit as she claims half of the properties belongs to her," said Shanmuga.
Her co-counsel Datuk Mohd Haaziq Pillay said that Fatimah's claim was that she was entitled to the assets as it was being held under trust by her husband for her. Justice Harmindar set Dec 9 for inter-parte injunction hearing. Fatimah filed her application to get the freezing order on Nov 26 under the Rules of the High Court 1980.
She named her husband Sannusi Ngah, 52, her brother in-law, retiree Md Jais Ngah, 65 and investment holding company Budi Tenggara Sdn Bhd as defendants in her lawsuit. Budi Tenggara is owned by Sannusi and his brother, Md Jais. She applied to the court to issue a freezing order to stop her husband from removing any asset from Malaysia which included shares, bank accounts, a house and an insurance policy.
She also sought for her husband - who is a businessman - to provide a complete list of their assets. In her suit filed on Nov 23 this year, Fatimah claimed that her relationship with her husband had turned cold and that she was in the midst of applying for a divorce (fasakh) at the Syariah court. She claimed that her hsuband was the registered owner of 10,000 shares in Budi Tenggara while Md Jais was registered owner of 90,000 shares, which was held in trust.
Among others, Fatimah claimed that she had married Sannusi on March 12, 1988 and had worked together as well as made various joint investments. They have a 16-year-old daughter from their 22-year-old marriage. Among others, Fatimah is asking for a declaration that 18 million shares in Hartalega Holdings Bhd and 33,924 shares in the same company registered under the Budi Tenggara belonged equally to the couple. She is also asking for damages, costs, interests and any relief deemed fit by court.
