Residents of the Ladang Bukit Tinggi estate in Klang heaved a sigh of relief when the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted them an interim injunction to stop the demolition of their homes.

Justice Azmel Ma'amor ordered Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad and its subsidiary, Jeleta Bumi, last Thursday not to demolish the houses or stop the supply of utilities before a final decision could be reached on the matter.

He also ordered the two companies to stop its employees from harassing, threatening, hurting and humiliating the residents.

Guthrie filed a suit against 67 workers, who were former employees of Guthrie, to recover the property and an injunction to evict them from the land.

In the suit, Guthrie said it sold a parcel of land totalling 668 acres to a buyer in an agreement dated Sept 9, 1994. Ladang Bukit Tinggi was part of the land that was sold.

However, 27 residents counter-sued on April 8 this year claiming that the agreement was wrongfully entered into as they were the beneficial owners of the land and only they could enter into any kind of sales and purchase agreement.

Both companies were also told that they were not to kill, maim or disturb the livestock, vegetable plots or any other property belonging to the residents.

The residents were represented by Charles Hector while Guthrie and Jeleta Bumi were represented by lawyers from Skrine & Co.