If you found money and two people claim it's theirs, who do you give it to?

Imagi

Intro

Imagine finding money on the streets or while you're travelling, much like how this Singaporean citizen found an envelope of money while travelling to Johor Bahru. But unlike our good-hearted Singaporean who's being hailed as a hero on social media, you're faced with angry people arguing that the money belongs to them. In cases like this, any normal person would just put the money back where they found it, right? Problem solved. But what if things weren't that simple?

Let's bring it up a notch and say that you're the owner of a warehouse - you've rented out the warehouse to Ali who uses it to store some equipment. One day, you get a visit from Abu, who angrily insists that the equipment in the warehouse is his. You quickly call Ali over to try and settle things peacefully, but Ali comes over insisting that the equipment belongs to him. Before leaving in a huff, Abu warns you that you'll be hearing from his lawyer. As soon as he leaves you quickly turn to Ali – hoping for some friendly advice, but instead Ali tells you that if you decide to co-operate with Abu, Ali will get his lawyers to sue you too

How do you find out which fella owns the equipment? And more importantly – How the heck can you get out of this mess?

Here's how Malaysian law can help solve this problem

You can hire your own lawyer and get them to start a process called Interpleader Proceedings. In simple terms, an interpleader allows a third party start a case in court in order to get two or more existing claimants to decide between themselves who rightfully owns a certain property, without involving the third party.

(Note: ‘Property’ in law means anything that is owned by a person or a legal entity, not necessarily just buildings or land.)

So going back to the warehouse example – this means that you would get a lawyer to file a case in court for Ali and Abu to decide between themselves who should be the owner of the equipment inside your warehouse.

So how do you apply for an interpleader?

Generally, an interpleader is a fast, relatively affordable,and straightforward process. You can find the details in Order 17 of the Rules of Court 2012, but here's a quick rundown:

1. You start your case by filing an Originating Summons (OS) – a legal document used to start a hearing in chambers.

[READ MORE: How do you even start suing someone in Malaysia]

2. Your OS must include affidavits (written statements made under oath) that state important facts which support your case,mainly:

• you don't have an interest in the property, and
• you're willing to pay the courts to help you get rid of it

3. After filing the documents, the courts will fix a date for a hearing – and the courts will decide between the claimants at the hearing itself. Please remember to attend the hearing as well.

But before you go...

In closing, here are some important things to look out for:

If you're applying for the interpleader, there has to be a genuine threat that you will be sued. You can't just assume that you might be sued, so it's important to back up your claim with documents like photos or letters to show that you could get into legal trouble if you pass the property to the wrong person.

If you say you're the claimant, but you don't attend the hearing, you won't get to prove your claim. So again, please remember to show up in court, especially if you want your property back.