PUTRAJAYA: Screen legend Tan Sri Jins Shamsuddin's sons, Hang Tuah and his third brother Jeffrey, failed in their appeal against their younger brother, Putera Hang Jebat, over an alleged falsified power of attorney (PA) used to sell 0.265 ha of their father's land in Ulu Klang worth RM2.75 million.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal led by Judge Datuk P. Ravinthran along with Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah and High Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, unanimously rejected the appeal today.
The Appellate Court ruled that the lower court judge did not err in deciding that the PA signed by the deceased was valid.
The court ruled that Section 68 of the Evidence Act applied to validate the execution of the power of attorney (PA).
This section requires that if a document must be attested by witnesses, it cannot be used as evidence unless at least one of the witnesses, if still alive and able to testify, is called to confirm its execution.
The court also awarded RM10,000 in costs to be paid by the appellants.
Jeffrey and Hang Tuah filed the appeal after being dissatisfied with the Shah Alam High Court's decision on March 31, 2023, which ruled that the PA appointing their brother as administrator was valid.
Jeffrey is the eldest son from Jins' marriage to the late actress Rahmah Rahmat, while Hang Tuah is the second son from his marriage to Jamilah Shukor in 1973.
The late Jins also had two other sons, Putera Hang Jebat, 32, and Putera Hang Nadim, 29, from his marriage to Puan Sri Halijah Abdullah.
In the March 2023 lawsuit decision, Judge Alice Loke Yee Ching stated that it was undisputed that Jins had signed the PA on Oct 9, 2013, and that the first defendant, Hang Jebat's own testimony confirmed this, as he stated that when he met his father on Oct 10, the PA already had the deceased's signature.
The judge noted that although the plaintiffs argued the PA was not signed in front of lawyer Rosal Azimin, the court accepted that after realising Jins had already signed it, Rosal Azimin had Jins add a pen mark below his signature.
The judge concluded that as far as the mark attached to the PA was concerned, it was a signature affixed in the presence of the Rosal Azimin.
In Jan 19, 2019, Hang Tuah and Jaffrey filed a lawsuit against Hang Tuah after alleging the latter had falsified a power of attorney letter, to sell 0.265 ha of land belonging to their father in Ulu Klang.
Hang Tuah claimed the land was sold to Barakatul Kamaria Ahmad without his knowledge.
He found out about this after inspecting land sales documents at the Gombak Land and Mines office in 2015, on his lawyer's advice.
Hang Tuah claimed that the land was sold using a fake signature of Jins, who was then suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.
Jins died at 82 on March 1, 2017 at his home in Ulu Klang.