THE land had been acquired, the highway built, and the money paid.

But Mr Ishak (not his real name) has yet to receive a cent of the compensation paid for the land he once owned, and lived in.

We are not using the real names of the parties involved in this case for legal reasons.

The elderly man, who is in frail health, claims his nephew fraudulently got his power of attorney and took the money without his knowledge.

His nephew denies this.

Mr Ishak alleges that his nephew, Mr Ali, has put the money (about $450,000) into an offshore bank account and will not release the money to him or his other relatives.

Mr Ali admitted getting the money and confirmed it is in a foreign bank account.

But he denies cheating his uncle.

He said his uncle was informed in Malay beforehand of the contents of each of the letters he signed, including the one where Mr Ishak transferred his power of attorney to him.

HELD IN TRUST

Mr Ali said he was holding the money in trust and will distribute it among all the beneficiaries, which includes his father, once they are accounted for.

But Mr Ishak is unconvinced, and his son made a police report on 22 Mar last year.

In the report, they alleged that Mr Ali had fraudulently obtained Mr Ishak's power of attorney and had cheated him of the compensation money.

Mr Ishak's son also claimed in the report that his father felt he had been tricked into signing the documents and wanted the compensation money back.

Both Mr Ishak and his son also sent two letters to the Law Society on 28 Mar and 1 May last year.

The New Paper has seen copies of the police report and letters.

In 2000, Mr Ishak received a letter from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), addressed to the owners of a plot of land at Geylang.

The letter stated that the Government would be acquiring the land for the building of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE).

Mr Ali said that the land in Geylang, which had an area of 227 sqm (about the size of four HDB three-room flats), was bought in 1935 and initially belonged to two of Mr Ishak' ancestors.

OWNERSHIP

As Mr Ishak had lived on the land for a long time, Mr Ali said he obtained a default court judgment that gave his uncle ownership of the land after his ancestors died.

Mr Ishak's son said his father lived in a house on the land and moved into a four-room flat in Sengkang before the land was acquired in 2001.

He said the house was part of a kampung and the family had neighbours.

Mr Ishak's son said: 'When the letter came, Mr Ali offered to help with the claim as he was trained as a lawyer.'

He said that between 2001 and 2002, Mr Ali arranged for several people to visit his father's home to get his thumbprint on several documents.

In the police report, Mr Ishak's son claimed that his father, who only understands Malay, never knew what the letters were for and their contents were not explained to him.

NOT TOLD ANYTHING

He said: 'My father was never told about how the claim was progressing, nor were we told anything about the money.

'When my father asked Mr Ali for a copy of the documents, he refused to give us any copies, and gave no reason.'

He alleged this in his police report.

Mr Ishak's younger brother told The New Paper that in 2005, he learnt from a former neighbour at the kampung that the SLA had paid the compensation for the acquisition of the land.

He learnt that the amount due to Mr Ishak, $450,000, was paid in 2002 and the SLA had written to Mr Ali's lawyer to tell him of the payout.

Mr Ishak's son said: 'We engaged a lawyer to ask that lawyer for copies of all documents related to the transaction but he said that all the files had been transferred to Mr Ali.'

At a family meeting in October 2004, Mr Ali admitted receiving the money from the land acquisition.

At that meeting, Mr Ishak's brother claimed that Mr Ali also told the family members that there was another claimant, an Indonesian, to the proceeds of the land acquisition.

He said: 'He said the claimant was a son of one of the original owners and had made a claim for a share of the proceeds.

'We asked for the letter stating the claim but Mr Ali could not produce it.'

Mr Ali has given his account of the dispute.

The police said they are investigating the case.