A Malaysian prince sued his runaway Indonesian teen wife and mother-in-law on Monday for claiming he had raped and tortured the teen during their year-long marriage, his lawyer said.
Tengku Temenggong Tengku Mohammad Fakhry, a prince in northern Kelantan state, filed a defamation suit in the High Court seeking 105 million ringgit (US$30 million) in damages from Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother, said lawyer Mohamad Haaziq Pillay.
The 17-year-old Pinot, a well-known socialite, returned to Indonesia in May and told media that the 31-year-old Fakhry had slashed her with razor blades and treated her as a sex slave. She reportedly said she was held captive in her room and drugged whenever she complained.
PHOTO: AP
She allegedly escaped while accompanying the state royal family on a trip to Singapore and filed a police report in Indonesia shortly afterward.
The scandal has captured widespread media attention in both Malaysia and Indonesia.
Fakhry’s lawsuit accuses Pinot and her mother, Daisy Fajarina, of concocting the allegations “out of spite” and “motivated by a desire of financial gains,” Mohamad Haaziq said.
“They have made my client out to be a monster and his reputation has been tarnished. My client is keen to get to the truth of the matter and clear his name,” he said.
Pinot and her mother, who are in Indonesia, have 21 days to respond to the suit. If they don’t, the case could go on in their absence.
“We can have judgment in default but they should come and defend themselves. This is the best forum for Manohara to seek justice instead of hiding behind the press and making baseless allegations,” Mohamad Haaziq said.
Pinot married Fakhry last year after she turned 16. Her mother has said Pinot had been kidnapped.
Mohamad Haaziq said Fakhry has filed to divorce Pinot and the case will be heard in the Islamic Shariah court on Aug 2. The court handles family matters for Muslims.
‘TERRORIST ATTACK’: The convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri resulted in the ‘martyrdom of five of our armed forces,’ the Presidential Leadership Council said A blast targeting the convoy of a Saudi Arabian-backed armed group killed five in Yemen’s southern city of Aden and injured the commander of the government-allied unit, officials said on Wednesday. “The treacherous terrorist attack targeting the convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, commander of the Second Giants Brigade, resulted in the martyrdom of five of our armed forces heroes and the injury of three others,” Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed Presidential Leadership Council said in a statement published by Yemeni news agency Saba. A security source told reporters that a car bomb on the side of the road in the Ja’awla area in
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
RSS