KUCHING: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) chief Wilfred Yap advised the public to be very careful when signing any document, and to understand its content before signing.
He said the general legal principle is that the person signing the document is bound by its terms, regardless of whether that person has read or understood it, or otherwise.
“When a document containing contractual terms is signed, then, in the absence of coercion, fraud, or misrepresentation, the party or person signing it is bound and it is immaterial whether he has read the document or not,” he said in a statement today.
He added that even if the document was in English or Bahasa Malaysia and the person did not understand either language, the law stipulates that the language barrier is not an excuse.
“Before anyone signs an agreement or contract in a language he does not understand, the onus is on him to ask someone who understands the language or to ask a lawyer about the content of the document,” he said.
Yap, who is also SUPP Kota Sentosa Branch chairman, was recently approached by an elderly woman and her sister seeking legal advice and assistance after they received a letter of demand from a legal firm alleging that they owed RM130,000 and that if this sum was not paid, her property in which she is currently staying would be transferred to the alleged creditor.
He said the elderly woman had revealed that she had previously signed some documents at the ground floor of a legal firm upon the request of her son, who had since passed away.
“But she did not know what she was signing and the content of what she was signing was never explained to her,” he said.
The elderly woman told him that she had lodged a police report on the matter, and Yap has requested the police to conduct a proper investigation on this police report lodged by the woman.
SUPP PCB is always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone facing problems or who come across problems of public interest but are unsure of how to deal with them.
Anyone requiring assistance can always contact SUPP PCB at 016-7797688 or 082-246999, or directly visit the SUPP Head Office to request for assistance.
