Leng v. Tong

Summary

This case involves a dispute among co-owners over the surrender of an owner's duplicate certificate of title needed for mortgage registration. Co Chin Leng, owning a 1/10 share of property under TCT 58759, sought to mortgage his share to China Banking Corporation but was prevented when co-owner Ong Hai Tong refused to surrender the owner's duplicate certificate required for registration. The Court of First Instance, sitting as a land registration court, ordered the surrender of the duplicate certificate under Section 72 of Act No. 496. The Supreme Court affirmed, establishing that land registration courts have jurisdiction to compel surrender of owner's duplicate certificates to facilitate mortgage registration, following the precedent in Director of Lands vs. Heirs of Abadezco. The decision clarifies that co-owners cannot prevent registration of mortgages on individual shares by withholding title documents.