A court in Malaysia has found that a widow was cheated out of property to which she was entitled on her husband's death. 

A series of unlawful transactions were undertaken by lawyers and others without her knowledge and authority to alienate her from the property. 

Madhu Dharan died in 1998 and his widow, Sunitha Madhu, an Indian national, later discovered that the land had been transferred using a series of fraudulent documents, including a false power of attorney demonstrated by, amongst other things, the falsification of Dharan's identity using an incorrect ID number.

Using the same lawyer throughout, the land was first "managed", then sold, then re-sold to a corporation which insisted it was an arm's length purchaser for value. The value was not insignificant.

In his own defence, the lawyer, Tersaim Lall, reportedly claimed that there was no locus to make a claim against him because Mdm Madhu was not his client and therefore he did not owe her a duty of care.

Someone, it seems to this editor, needs to explain to him the difference between contract, fraud and tort. 

Full story: https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2025/02/1176884/widow-regains-…