KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) _ The lawyer for an indigenous Malaysian tribe says the nation’s High Court has awarded the tribe damages after ruling that authorities unlawfully demolished their chapel.

Members of the small tribe known as the Straits People went to court after authorities tore down their new Christian chapel 10 days before Christmas in 2005 on grounds that it was built on state land.

The tribe’s lawyer says the court ruled that authorities had failed to honor a pledge made in 2001 to list the site as customary native land.

Another tribal church under construction in Malaysia faces demolition after authorities ordered villagers to stop work on it. Pastor Moses Soo, whose Christian group is helping the tribe build the church, said villagers have defied the stop-work order.