A lawyer who represented an Orang Asli community in Johor in a landmark case against the state government today denied that he had misappropriated a portion of the RM38 million awarded to his clients.

"There was no fraud involved. I have given the said monies to the appropriate parties while setting up a trust fund for my clients," S Kanawagi told malaysiakini when met at his office in Kuala Lumpur.

In June 2000, the Johor Bahru High Court awarded RM38 million to the community in Lembah Linggiu after the state government acquired a part of their land to build a dam.

However, the community today accused the lawyer of committing fraud and embezzling their windfall.

According to them, RM22 million was placed in a trust fund while the remainder RM16 million 'has gone missing'.

Legal fees

"From the RM16 million, I have given RM3.6 to the (community's) headmen to distribute among the plaintiffs and RM2.2 million to the middle-man who introduced me to the plaintiffs.

"The balance (RM10.2 million) was retained for legal fees and costs. The fees was not just for me. I had a team of seven very high class lawyers and some were even international professors," Kanagawi said.

"I don't think it is a very big amount to be kept as legal fees. In fact if we had stuck to the original agreement between me and the headmen, I would have retained RM19 million," he added.

Kanawagi, who has been in practise for 18 years, also showed a copy of an agreement between him and three headmen from the Sayong Pinang, Samangar and Pasir Asam villages.

The agreement, inked on July 1995 (six months before the court reached it verdict) stated that in the event the court granted an award above RM6.4 million, the lawyer would be entitled to 50 percent.

"At no point in time did I agree to a legal fee of RM500 000. This is news to me. This is not true and is nowhere in the agreement" he said in rebutting claims made by his clients.

Questioned on Saling Lau Bee Ching, one of the plaintiffs who had lodged a police report on behalf of the others against Kanawagi, the lawyer said he had no recollection of meeting him.

"Saling I believe is a grassroots man and I don't know him. He was never part to the agreement between me an the headmen." the lawyer asserted.

He also said the middle man, Hamzah Mohamed Tahir, deserved the amount because of his hard work and effort in giving the community the chance to receive the award.

Kanawagi said he also plans to lodge a police report in Johor to counter the one lodge by Saling against him on July 5.

Nephew blamed

According to the lawyer, he had previously lodged a police report against his chambering student whom he claims was responsible for the scandal.

"I had a nephew who did his chambering here in my firm last year. He had full access to my files and I believe he has systematically removed my files during his tenure here. I believe he doctored the said agreement and passed it the people involved in this accusation," he claimed.

Asked why his nephew would do such a thing, Kanawagi said he had no idea.

"When his term ended last year, neither of us expressed interest in him continuing here full time. I thought he left gracefully but I guess I was wrong." he added.

He said if any document, apart from his copy relating to the legal fees surfaced, it would be proof that his nephew had stolen them.

In their police report, the villagers claimed to have only received only RMI million from the RM3.6 million that Kanawagi claims to have handed to the village headmen.