A pastor claimed that some 150 thugs had stormed his church - which is in the centre of a land dispute - and tore down signboards and crosses.

But Ipoh district police chief Jalaludin Ibrahim said they were workers renovating the Tabernacle of David.

Contacted yesterday, pastor Menon Manasa said the "gangsters" came in two lorries and these were used to block the entrance to the church.

They then forced the staff out of the building and proceeded to remove the signboards and bring down the crosses. They also painted over the Bible verses on the church walls.

"They came suddenly and threatened to beat me if I did not leave the place immediately. They said they were enforcing a 'court order'," claimed Menon.

He was referring to a Ipoh High Court order obtained on Aug 30 by Millennium Yield Sdn Bhd, which is contesting with the Tabernacle for ownership over the land, to prevent the pastor from entering the premises.

'Through the backdoor'

According to the church's lawyer M Manoharan, a hearing was originally set for Dec 12 by Ipoh High Court judge Balia Yusof Wahi.

However, he claimed the company obtained an ex-parte and default order from another judge 'through the backdoor'.

"This is clearly contempt in the face of the court as they (the company) have filed multiple proceedings while the case was set to be heard in December," he added when contacted.

The lawyer said Balia yesterday agreed to hear on Nov 17 the church's application to prevent Millennium from trespassing on its property.

Monday's incident is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the church - also known as the Thaveethin Kudaram church and the Thaveethin Kudaram Christian Fellowship Society - which shares the premises.

The church claims that Millennium Yield managed, through undetermined means, to acquire proprietary rights over the land from the society.

A civil suit to determine the rightful owners of the property is currently pending at the Ipoh High Court and will be heard on Nov 20.

Going on for years

Meanwhile, Jalaludin, who confirmed that a report had been lodged over the incident, said the alleged gangsters were workers hired by Millenium Yield which had acquired a court order to reclaim the building.

Contacted today, the police chief said he had advised them to postpone 'sensitive' work such as bringing down the crosses and painting over biblical verses for a month.

However, he said the police would not interfere with a matter in the civil court.

"We are here just to ensure the peace. We don't want to side with any one party. The tussle is over the piece of land, it just so happens that a church sits on top of it.

"This matter has been going on for several years now, with both sides alleging all kinds of things," he added.