TWO lawyers who defrauded a court into wrongly paying out $4.27 million to a party that is not entitled to the money have been struck off the rolls.

A third, who played a less serious role in the scam has been suspended for three years.

The case stemmed from a complicated legal tussle between two camps over the assets left behind by an Indonesian millionaire who died 55 years ago.

In 2005, a High Court judge hearing the case had a disciplinary committee look into their conduct.

The committee found the case serious enough to be referred to the Court of Three Judges, which disciplines lawyers and has the power to suspend or strike lawyers off the rolls.

In a 66-page written judgment released on Friday, the Court of Three Judges found that Ms Nor'ain Abu Bakar and Mr Peter Chua have committed fraud on the court which warranted a striking off.

The conduct of Ms Ruby Tan was grossly improper but not dishonest or fraudulent, said Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, who delivered the judgment.

Ms Nor'ain and Ms Tan have seven years' experience while Mr Chua has been a lawyer for more than 20 years.