In this paper previously unpublished eld data from 25 ha of permanent samplingplots (PSPs) in Sabah, Malaysia, in four different forest reserves areanalysed for mortality rates and basal area development. Field data of anobservation length of 9 to 20 years were available. These data then formthe basis of several benchmark tests for the evaluation of theindividual-oriented tropical rain forest growth model FORMIND.A new version of the FORMIND is presented. The model in its version FORMIND1.1includes enhanced submodels for mortality and tree growth. The modelevaluation is focused on the model components for tree growth, competitionand mortality. Data for tree recruitment were not available. Results showa good agreement between simulation and eld data for the main output variablesbasal area and stem number indicating a reasonable behaviour of the modelcomponents we focused on. Furthermore the results show that differences insite conditions inuence tree growth and mortality. Site characteristics shouldbe included in the model in the future.