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Judge rejects damages claim by Hong Kong villagers who sold land rights to developer

Five lose case against lawyers and are condemned for making false representations in selling their building rights

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Villagers' claim was thrown out by a High Court judge

Five villagers are millions of dollars out of pocket after a judge threw out their claim for damages over a land deal that turned sour and said both sides had made false representations.

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The ruling on the small house policy came four days after the District Court jailed 11 villagers and a developer for misrepresentation and perjury to the Lands Department in their applications.

Mr Justice Anthony To Kwai-fung wrote in his High Court judgment on the civil case that "both the developers and the [villagers] were culpable parties".

Kan Wai-chung, Kan Kar-fai, Kan Wai-ming, Lau Fook Keung and Steven Kan For-ping - of Hang Tau village in Sheung Shui - struck a deal with Sino Favour Development in 1994 to sell their rights as indigenous villagers, or "dings", to build a home for HK$200,000 each.

Under the agreement, the developer assigned land to them and then used their identity as a "ding" to apply for building licences. They agreed to hold the land in trust for the developer.

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But the villagers sued when the developer sold the houses without their authorisation. That lawsuit was settled in 2010.

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