High Court sets Feb 18 to hear application by woman claiming to be Samy Vellu's wife

Meeriam Rosaline Edward Paul, 60, claims to be Tun S. Samy Vellu's common law wife.

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The High Court has set Feb 18 to hear an application by a woman claiming to be the common law wife of Tun S. Samy Vellu to be an intervenor in Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari's lawsuit to have the former MIC president's mental health determined by the court.

Lawyer RSN Rayer, representing Meeriam Rosaline Edward Paul, 60, told reporters of the date when met after case management, which was held in chambers before judge Datuk Mohd Sofian Abd Razak Tuesday (Jan 7).

He said the application was filed on Dec 17 last year.

Vell Paari filed the suit against Samy Vellu, 83, last Dec 2, seeking a court order that an investigation be conducted to ascertain the mental fitness of his father, and whether the former MIC president and works minister had the capacity to manage himself and his matters.

In the suit, Vell Paari sought an order that a date, time and place be set for an investigation to be conducted under Section 52 of the Mental Health Act 2001 on his father, to determine the period his father had been suffering mental disorder.

He also sought a court order to find out if his father is capable of giving orders to his lawyer to act on his behalf (Samy Vellu) and to determine the types of property his father owned.

The former MIC secretary-general also requested that consultant neuropsychiatrist and Penang Adventist Hospital neurobehavioural medicine head, Dr Prem Kumar Chandrasekaran, 52, or other mental health experts, be given access to examine his father personally and prepare a report on the defendant's mental capacity.

In the event that the defendant is found to be suffering from a mental disorder and incapable of managing himself and his affairs, Vell Paari will seek that several individuals including himself (as the plaintiff) and lawyer Datuk C. Vijaya Kumar be appointed by the court as committee members to manage the defendant's estate.

If the individuals are allowed by the court to be appointed as committee members, the plaintiff will seek that the court determine the powers of the committee, set a provision for its costs and expenses as well as remuneration to be paid to the members.

Vell Paari will also seek an order for him to be appointed as the defendant's litigation representative in any legal proceedings involving his father, properties or interests.

Meanwhile, Vell Paari in a supporting affidavit said his mother, Toh Puan R. Indrani, 79, and his younger sister, S. Mangayerkarasi, 56, would support the suit and would confirm the matter in their affidavits of support.

The plaintiff said Prof David Ames, a consultant psychiatrist from Victoria, Australia, had diagnosed his father as having dementia in 2017 and prescribed medicines for his condition.

He said consultant psychiatrist from Pantai Hospital, Dr Bharathi Vengadasalam, also provided reports that Samy Vellu was suffering from a major neurocognitive disorder and was incapable of managing his finances and estate, administering medicines or making decisions.

He said from the findings of the two consultants, his father had a mental health disorder and lacked the physical and mental capacity to handle himself and his affairs.

Vell Paari added that since 2017, he had assisted his father in managing his affairs and estate and had used his own funds for the purpose, as his father could not have access to the funds from his bank accounts due to health reasons.

Last Dec 12, the Ipoh High Court fixed Jan 17 this year to hear an interim application from Meeriam Rosaline, who is seeking unconditional access to Samy Vellu, apart from a monthly alimony payment of RM25,000. – Bernama