Court allows bid by Samy Vellu’s son to check dad’s mental health

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today allowed an application by S Vell Paari for his father, former MIC president S Samy Vellu, to undergo a mental health screening.

Vell Paari made the application in his suit against Samy Vellu seeking a court declaration that his father was incapable of managing his own affairs.

Judge Wong Chee Lin allowed Vell Paari’s application in line with Section 52 of the Mental Health Act 2001 after hearing arguments from both parties.

Lawyer David Mathews, representing Vell Paari, told reporters this after the matter came up in chambers today.

Also present was lawyer Prem Ramachanran, representing Samy Vellu.

“The court has allowed the application but I cannot disclose further details regarding the investigation,” Mathews said.

He said the court had also rejected an application by a woman claiming to be Samy Vellu’s wife to be an intervenor in the lawsuit.

“The court rejected the application by Meeriam Rosaline Edward Paul at a cost of RM5,000 after hearing arguments from both parties,” he said.

Vell Paari filed the suit against Samy Vellu on Dec 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 was capable of managing himself and his affairs.

In the suit, he sought an order that a date, time and place be set for an investigation under Section 52 of the Mental Health Act 2001 to determine the length of time his father had been suffering from mental disorders.

He also sought a court order to find out if his father was capable of giving orders to his lawyer to act on his behalf, and to determine the types of property his father owned.

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

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

If the court allows them to be appointed as committee members, Vell Paari wants the court to determine the powers of the committee and set a provision for its costs and expenses, as well as remuneration to be paid to the members.

He will also seek an order for him to be appointed as Samy Vellu’s litigation representative in any legal proceedings involving his father, properties or interests.

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