Fresh evidence admitted in Melaka convent land appeal
Court of Appeal says the newly discovered 1936 archival records could influence the appeal over ownership of the lot.
The Court of Appeal has permitted two Catholic mission organizations to submit new historical proof in their dispute over the Sacred Heart Canossian Convent's land in Banda Hilir, Melaka. The three-member panel, led by Justice Firuz Jaffril, deemed the appellants had fulfilled the legal criteria for admitting fresh evidence after the High Court dismissed their appeal in February 2025.
The new evidence consists of official letters from 1936 between the Lot 6 owner and the Melaka municipality, discovered and preserved at the National Archives of Malaysia. Firuz explained that the Canossian Sisters and Portuguese Mission would not be blamed for not finding these records due to their cataloging under different titles.
The court found the documents credible and potentially influential in resolving the ownership conflict, although not absolutely conclusive. However, they rejected an application to include a 1934 Melaka Municipal Area Map from the British War Office and National Archives of Singapore and National Library of Singapore. The map was deemed insufficient to determine Lot 6 ownership and thus did not satisfy the criteria for introducing new evidence.
The case stems from a February 2025 High Court ruling dismissing the organizations' judicial review due to their inability to prove ownership of Lot 6. Justice Radzi Abdul Hamid stated that references to the "Portuguese Convent" refer to the structure on the land, not ownership, and found the organizations failed to establish legal or beneficial ownership before the current land registration system.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
