THE Kuala Lumpur High Court will hear on June 15 submissions by S. Vell Paari with regard to an attempt to intervene in his suit by a woman claiming to be the common-law wife of his father, S. Samy Vellu.

The suit seeks to have Samy Vellu’s mental health determined by the court.

Lawyer R.S.N. Rayer, representing Meeriam Rosaline Edward Paul, 60, said Vell Paari, who is former MIC secretary-general, will make the submissions through his counsel, David Mathews, before judge Mohd Sofian Abdul Razak.

The court had fixed March 20 for Vell Paari to make his submissions, but the matter was postponed due to the movement-control order.

Vell Paari filed the suit against Samy Vellu, 83, on December 2 last year, seeking a court order that an investigation be conducted to ascertain the latter’s mental fitness, as well as whether the former MIC president has the capacity to manage himself and his affairs.

Among others, Vell Paari is seeking an order to determine if his father is capable of giving instructions to a lawyer to act on his behalf.

The court is also asked to decide whether Penang Adventist Hospital neurobehavioural medicine head Dr Prem Kumar Chandrasekaran, 52, or other mental health experts should be given access to examine Samy Vellu personally and prepare a report on his mental capacity.

In the event that Samy Vellu is found to be suffering a mental disorder and is incapable of managing himself and his affairs, Vell Paari is seeking that several individuals, including himself and lawyer C. Vijaya Kumar, be appointed by the court as committee members to manage the defendant’s estate.

The plaintiff also wants to be appointed as his father’s representative in any legal proceedings concerning the latter.

In his suit, Vell Paari said consultant psychiatrist Professor David Ames, from Victoria, Australia, diagnosed Samy Vellu with dementia in 2017, and had prescribed medicines for the condition.

He also said Dr Bharathi Vengadasalam, a consultant psychiatrist at Pantai Hospital, provided reports stating that Samy Vellu is suffering a major neurocognitive disorder, and is incapable of managing his finances and estate. – Bernama, May 19, 2020.