KUAL LUMPUR – All matters relating to an inquiry on former MIC president Tun S. Samy Vellu's mental health cannot be disclosed to the public, according to a lawyer involved in the case.
This was after High Court Judge Wong Chee Lin had on October 2 granted Samy Vellu’s son Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari’s application to keep the matter confidential.
Lawyer David Mathews, who represented Vell Paari, when contacted said there was a protective or sealing order in force relating to the inquiry.
“The court made the confidentiality order. Court dates and court papers relating to the inquiry cannot be revealed. I cannot say more,” he said, adding that the application for sealing order into the inquiry was made on September 27.
On September 11, Justice Wong allowed Vell Paari’s application for his father to undergo mental health inquiry.
The application was made by Vell Paari in the suit he filed against Samy Vellu for the court to declare that his father was incapable of managing his own affairs.
Vell Paari, 55, filed the suit against Samy Vellu on December 2 last year, seeking a court order that an investigation be conducted to ascertain the mental fitness of his father, and whether the former Works Minister has 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 Neurobehavioural Medicine head at the Penang Adventist Hospital, 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 (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 Samy Vellu, his property or interests.
He said 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.
On September 11, Justice Wong rejected an application by Meeriam Rosaline Edward Paul, 59, who claimed to be the wife of Samy Vellu, to be an intervenor in Vell Paari’s suit.
Rosaline had also failed in her second bid to be an intervenor after the same court dismissed her application on October 8. – Bernama, November 2020
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