Kelantan prince sues wife, mum-in-law for RM105m
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 had named Cik Puan Temenggong Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother, Daisy Fajarina as defendants.
The prince was granted leave by the High Court at 11:05am Monday to commence legal proceedings against both 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.
Mohd Haaziq had filed a writ of summons for the leave application at 9:01am Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Mohd Haaziq said he had to get leave in order to serve the writ to the defendants, who were both staying in Indonesia.
“The defendants have 21 days to file their statement of defence over the defamation suit.
“I think this is the best opportunity for them to come forward to defend their claims. If anything, the High Court will be the correct forum and the best way to prove their case.
“It must be substantive; otherwise, you will have to pay the price for the matter,” he said.
He said his client had filed the suit over all allegedly slanderous words and statements made against him between April and June this year.
Mohd Haaziq said his team would take effort to serve the papers to both defendants, perhaps through the Indonesian or Malaysian embassy.
“I was told that Manohara has Malaysian lawyers acting for her on legal matters; if they can accept the documents on their (the defendants’) behalf, we will just pass them the documents,” he added.
In the statement of claim filed Monday, the prince said the defamatory words, which were widely printed and circulated online in Malaysia and Indonesia, meant that he was guilty of torturing, abusing and raping Manohara.
The prince said the words implied that he was guilty of mistreatment of his wife and sexually harassing her.
Among others, the prince said the words also portrayed him as guilty of forcibly abducting Manohara and unlawfully confining her.
The prince said the words were calculated to disparage him in the eyes of the members of the royalty, the government and the public.
Tengku Muhammad Fakhry said the allegations were baseless and maliciously uttered, causing him to suffer personal anguish and embarrassment.
The prince said he has been brought into public scandal, odium and contempt.
In elaborating the particulars of damage, the prince said he was forced to initiate legal proceedings to clear his good name.
He is seeking RM35mil each in aggravated, exemplary and compensatory damages.
Apart from that, the prince is applying for an injunction to restrain the defendants from further speaking and uttering similar words and statements against him.
He is seeking costs, interest and any relief deemed fit by the court.
On July 5, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry had filed two applications against Manohara at the Syariah High and Lower Courts in Kota Baru, demanding the return of a nearly RM1mil loan and that she be loyal to him.
According to the prince, the couple got married on Aug 26, 2008 and had stayed together at Mahkota Palace in Kubang Kerian.
At the lower Syariah court, the prince claimed that that he had issued an ultimatum to Manohara on June 26, through the local media, to return to his side and reconcile by July 2 and carry out her responsibility as a wife under Syariah laws.
The prince contended that Manohara was duly informed of the ultimatum via the media but she failed to comply and he asked the court to issue an order to reconcile or deem her to be nusyuz (recalcitrant). The case is set for mention on Aug 2.
Manohara, 17, a former teen model, fled from her husband on May 31 when they were in Singapore to visit his father, the Sultan of Kelantan, who was being treated at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital for a heart ailment.
She returned to Jakarta after accusing the 31-year-old prince of abusing her physically and sexually.
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RM 105 juta. Berapa agaknya ya dalam matawang Rupiah? Itu la, teringin sangat nak masuk mahkamah, dah terkabul hajat.
Sekali TT berbunyi... bergema RM 105 million.
Lain kali jangan melampau sangat kurang adab menuduh yang bukan-bukan. Nanti diri sendiri tak tertanggung. RM 105 million bukannya sedikit.
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