PENANG: In between caring for a husband dying of cancer and two young children, housewife B.G. Ng had to make countless trips to a developer's office to try and get her money back. 

Sixteen years on, her elder child has turned 26 but the 46-year-old widow has yet to see any of the money she had forked out as deposit and progressive payments for a house to the developer, which was wound up in 1991. 

There is, however, finally some light at the end of the tunnel for Ng and 33 other housebuyers of the abandoned project in Gertak Sanggul. 

Yesterday, Senior Federal Counsel Jamhirah Ali from the Insolvency Department informed the High Court that the buyers would be getting their money back in two months. 

GOOD NEWS: Some of the 34 housebuyers with their counsel Kanakavalli discussing the case outside the High Court in Penang Thursday.

Jamhirah told the court that on Nov 21, 2002, the developer, Showkat Industries Realty Sdn Bhd, had obtained a stay of the winding-up order at the High Court. 

It had also deposited RM1.24mil with the Official Assignee to pay all creditors who had filed claims. 

“We have checked our records and found that the money deposited is sufficient to pay all the creditors,” Jamhirah said. 

“Accordingly, our headquarters in Putrajaya has given instructions to our branch office here to take immediate action to pay out the money to the creditors.” 

Jamhirah said this at the hearing of an originating summons by the 34 housebuyers against the department for the release of the money. 

The originating summons was filed at the High Court on Feb 2 this year. 

Counsel for the housebuyers N. Kanakavalli asked the court to record the terms of the confirmation given by Jamhirah, noting that some of the housebuyers had signed the sale and purchase agreement in 1981. 

Judicial Commissioner John Louis O'Hara fixed Sept 25 for mention, pending the release of the money.  

Each housebuyer is expected to receive between RM20,000 and RM30,000. 

Outside the court, housebuyer K. Subramaniam, 58, said there were originally 61 buyers but some have since passed away while others had just given up.