KUALA LUMPUR: Unit owners at K Residence are suing DutaLand Bhd chief executive officer Tan Sri Yap Yong Seong and developer KL Landmark Sdn Bhd for their alleged failure to establish a joint management body (JMB) within 12 months of delivery of vacant possession, the misuse of maintenance funds as well as other misconducts in the management of the condominium.

Yong Seong, widely known as Duta Yap, is a director of Olympia Industries Bhd, which wholly-owns KL Landmark.

The 37 unit owners also named City Properties Sdn Bhd and Yap Wee Sean, a director of City Properties and son of Yong Seong, as defendants.

They claim that KL Landmark had failed to establish a JMB within 12 months of delivery of vacant possession which was on July 1, 2008, pursuant to Section 4 and Section 5 of the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007.

The JMB was only established on June 15, 2018, after numerous warnings from the Commissioner of Buildings.

The plaintiffs also claim that the defendants had managed the condominium and utilised the management funds in a manner that was in their own interest and to the detriment of the owners.

“The plaintiffs further pleaded that the third and fourth defendants (Yong Seong and Wee Sean) had personally benefitted from the manner in which the condominium development was managed prior to the setting up of the JMB,” said the plaintiffs in their statement of claim.

They also accused KL Landmark of allegedly permitting the Embassy of Morocco to lease two triplex units on the 42nd, 43rd and 44th floors of the condominium, which are owned by Leong Li Nar Realty Sdn Bhd (LLNRSB), which in turn is owned by Yong Seong’s wife Leong Li Nar and his two sons, Wee Sean and Yap Wee Chun.

Yong Seong and Leong are also directors of LLNRSB.

The plaintiffs claim that KL Landmark had acted under the instructions of Yong Seong and/or Wee Sean in allowing the embassy to lease the units, which were intended to be for residential use only.

The presence of the embassy, they said, has caused a reduction in the prestige of the condominium, which had been marketed as a high-end condominium, due to the removal of CCTV cameras at the request of the embassy on level 42 of the development and the excessive number of visitors.

The plaintiffs said there were a total of 718 visitors between Nov 2 and Nov 23, 2017, with the excessive number of visitors generally reducing the level of security.

Besides that, the embassy was given 18 access cards, a disproportionate amount to what would reasonably be required for a residential unit.

On the maintenance funds, the plaintiffs said about 45% of the total amount collected from the owners between 2008 and 2018 were used to pay utility bills by KL Landmark to City Properties.

“They said the utility charges comprised chilled water charges, common electricity and refuse collection. Between 2009 and 2018, the first defendant paid the second defendant the sum of RM12.11 million for these utility charges. There were originally no supporting documents to support such payments,” said the plaintiffs.

Meanwhile, the fifth and sixth floor office units, which were assumed to be common property, were transferred to City Properties, which the plaintiffs said was done fraudulently and without basis.

The plaintiffs, represented by Goh Wong Pereira, are claiming damages, interest on any judgement sum at a rate of 5% per annum, costs and such further relief as the court deems fit.