Tuesday July 21, 2009
Prince sues Manohara for RM105m
By M. MAGESWARI
Kelantan Prince sues estranged wife and mother-in-law for RM105mil
KUALA LUMPUR: Tengku Temenggong of Kelantan Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Sultan Ismail Petra is suing his estranged wife and her mother for RM105mil for defamation.
The prince was granted leave by the High Court at 11.05am yesterday to commence legal proceedings against Cik Puan Temenggong Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother Daisy Fajarina whom he named as defendants.
High Court senior assistant registrar Safarudin Tambi granted the order in his chambers after the prince’s lawyer Mohd Haaziq Pillay applied for the leave.
Legal right: Mohd Haaziq showing the press a copy of the leave application in Kuala Lumpur Monday. Mohd Haaziq filed a writ of summons for the leave application at 9.01am yesterday.
In the writ, the plaintiff said it (the writ) was to be used to get the court’s permission as the defendants are out of jurisdiction.
Speaking to reporters, Mohd Haaziq said he had to get leave in order to serve the writ to both defendants who were staying in Indonesia.
“The defendants have 21 days to file their statement of defence over the defamation suit,” he said, adding that his client filed the suit over all slanderous words and statements made against him between April and June this year.
Mohd Haaziq said his team would take efforts to serve the papers to both women through the Indonesian or Malaysian embassy.
“I was told that Manohara got a Malaysian lawyer acting for her on legal matters. If they can accept the documents on their behalf, we will just pass the documents,” he added.
The plaintiff is seeking RM35mil each in aggravated, exemplary and compensatory damages as well as costs, interest and other relief deemed fit by the court.
He is also applying for an injunction to restrain the defendants from further speaking and uttering similar words/statements against him.
In the statement of claim, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry said the defamatory words widely printed and circulated online in Malaysia and Indonesia implied that he was guilty of mistreating, sexually harassing, abducting and unlawfully confining Manohara.
The allegations, he said, were baseless and meant to disparage him in the eyes of the members of the royalty, the government and the public.
Due to this, he said he was forced to initiate legal proceedings to clear his name.
On July 5, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry filed two applications against Manohara at the Syariah High and Lower Courts in Kota Baru, demanding the return of about RM1mil loan and that she be loyal to him.
According to the prince, the couple married on Aug 26, 2008 and stayed together at Mahkota Palace in Kubang Kerian.
At the lower Syariah court, the prince claimed that he had issued an ultimatum to Manohara on June 26, through the local media, to reconcile with him by July 2.
He said Manohara was informed of this via the media but she failed to comply.
He later asked the court to issue an order to reconcile or deem her to be nusyuz.
The case is set for mention on Aug 2.
(Nusyuz is the refusal of a wife to obey her husband in instances such as wilfully distancing herself from her husband, leaving the house without permission or refusing to relocate/stay with her husband without valid reason(s) as prescribed under Islamic Laws.)
Manohara, 17, a former Indonesian teen model, fled from her husband on May 31 when they were in Singapore to visit the Sultan of Kelantan at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
She returned to Jakarta after accusing the 31-year-old prince of abusing her physically and sexually.
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