Kota Kinabalu High Court has quashed a decision by the Sabah local government and housing minister who gave a developer six more months to complete an overdue condominium project, The Star reported.

In the decision favouring a group of condominium buyers, the judge held the minister's decision to grant an extension to RA Concept Development Sdn Bhd, the developer of Light Residences condominiums in Penampang contravened Sabah's Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 2008.

According to The Star, the condominium project was supposed to have been completed in December 2015 and Sabah minister Hajiji Noor granted the developer a 180-day extension on Feb 1, 2016.

The developer only handed over vacant possession of the condominium units to buyers in June 2016.

In the landmark decision, justice Ravinthran Paramaguru awarded costs of RM15,000 each to the 30 condominium buyers who filed a judicial review of the minister’s decision at the hearing on Thursday.

The applicants had filed a challenge against the extension of time approval in September 2016, naming Hajiji, the developer and the state attorney-general as the first, second and third respondents respectively.

The judge ordered Hajiji, who was represented by counsel PK Lim, to pay RM10,000 in costs to each of the buyers, and the developer, represented by lawyer Joanne Goh, to pay RM5,000 to each buyer.