Chief Justice rules on Mahogany Heights muddle

It was a matter that the D.F.C. commission of inquiry hit upon during the public hearings: the quandary facing owners who bought land in the Mahogany Heights housing development but never received their titles. The story dates back to 1994 when Abdul Hamze bought the future village site of over seven thousand acres of land from a company called Parrot Hill Corporation. The price was eight hundred thousand dollars. But it turns out Hamze bought the land using someone else’s money … money that was provided by businessman Kuo Chun-Hung. Kuo had given Hamze two million dollars to make the business venture happen. And that is where the controversy begins. Kuo says he and Hamze were business partners and when the land was eventually sold to the Government of Belize for a whopping nine point five million dollars, both men should have spilted the windfall evenly. But Kuo was left high and dry because when Government bought the land for Mahogany Heights it was Hamze whose name was on the cheque, a reported seven million of the total sale price of nine and a half. When Kuo found out he immediately initiated legal proceedings against Hamze. But today Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh ruled against Kuo, calling the arrangement a mortgage, meaning Kuo is only entitled to the two million he fronted more than a decade ago. While two million dollars sounds like an offer you can’t refuse, Kuo is anything but a happy man. According to his attorney Wilfred Elrington, they are heading to the Court of Appeal. By phone this evening, Elrington told us that his client wants Government to pay the contracted price of nine and a half million dollars into a trust fund in both Hamze and Kuo’s names so that his client can get his fair share. But what about the seven million Belmopan already gave to Hamze? Elrington says that’s their problem because the law on a statutory trust for sale is clear. As for Hamze, we understand he has relocated to Lebanon, leaving behind only a power of attorney in Belize. So where does that leave property owners in Mahogany Heights? Up a certain creek … apparently without a paddle.