Sharmaine at the courthouse this morning. Pic: Samsul Said

SHAH ALAM: The Shah Alam Syariah High Court today postponed the RM5.4 million property distribution case of former actress/model Sharmaine Farouk Ahmad Farouk to January next year to enable the court to hear the testimony of two of her siblings.

Syarie judge Muhammad Adib Husain postponed the case to Jan 13, 2010 to allow Sharmaine's lawyer Ahmad Nazib Johari to call her brother Ahmad Rezal, 44, and sister Serena, 41, to testify.

Ahmad Nazib told reporters the application was to determine the deserving parties for the distribution of the property according to faraid, and for the court to identify the legitimate heir as well as each person's share to the assets left behind by Sharmaine's father, Tan Sri Ahmad Farouk Isahak who died on Dec 14, 2005.

Faraid refers to the division of property among family members, based on Islamic law, when a Muslim dies without leaving a will.

The assets, amounting to more than RM5.4 million, comprises cash, shares and unit trusts, a club membership as well as land and a condominium, among others.

On Nov 5, Sharmaine, 39, had filed the motion to have her father's assets to be divided among her five siblings and one step-sibling according to faraid.

Ahmad Nazib said today's case follows the previous 'hibah' (gift) feud regarding the distribution of a landed property and a piece of land.

In October 2007, the five siblings Sharmaine, Ahmad Ridzuan (then 46) Soraya, (then 44), Serena (then 39) and Aimran Ambari (then 35) made a claim against Ahmad Rezal, after the latter sought for the assets to be distributed through faraid.

The dispute concerned a house at 6, Jalan 2/2, Taman Tun Abdul Razak, Ampang and a vacant land held under Title HS(D)18654, P.T. No 10556, Mukim Ulu Klang, Daerah Gombak, Selangor.

The five claimed the two properties were given to them by their father through a deed of gift made on Aug 27, 2004.

However Ahmad Rezal later withdrew his claim over the properties and all parties agreed the properties should be distributed through faraid.