Amutha Valli Krishnan loses "exorcism" case
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It's in today's ST, on the cover and pages A18-19, and in Weekend TODAY
Court dismisses Novena Church exorcism case
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 13 February 2009 1947 hrs
SINGAPORE: The High Court has thrown out the exorcism case against the priests and volunteers at Novena Church, after a trial spanning two years.
In a 61-page judgement on Friday, Justice Lee Seiu Kin held that Madam Amutha Valli Krishnan had not proved her case against the defendants for assault and battery, false imprisonment and negligence.
He accepted the defendants' version of events on the night of 10 August 2004 and found the contradictory parts of Madam Amutha Valli's evidence to be false.
Justice Lee also ruled that he did not find the actions of the priests had caused Madam Amutha Valli to suffer any damage.
In her statement of claim, Madam Amutha Valli had claimed special and aggravated damages.
Justice Lee also held, based on doctors' evidence, that Madam Amutha Valli did not suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the events at the church.
The case was heard over two periods at the Supreme Court, in October and November 2007 and in June and July last year, and received much public attention.
In his judgement, Justice Lee said both the defendants' and Madam Amutha Valli's versions of the case were equally bizarre.
He ruled that Madam Amutha Valli's story was a chilling tale of late-night abduction by fanatics bent on driving out imaginary spirits from her.
The version of the priests and volunteers from Novena Church was that Madam Amutha Valli had been brought to the church by her family members who claimed she was possessed and they requested for a priest to pray over her.
But Justice Lee found the evidence of the defendants' witnesses to be consistent and carried "the ring of truth".
Madam Amutha Valli's witnesses, namely her children (Subashini, Jairaj) and family friend (Resham Singh), tried to "gloss over" embarrassing facts about her life, said Justice Lee.
Lawyers will next address Justice Lee on the question of legal costs which are expected to be very substantial.
The two priests involved in the case were away when Channel NewsAsia visited Novena Church on Friday evening.
But through his lawyer, Father Simon Tan said he's "relieved and vindicated".
Church-goers welcomed the judgement.
"I have confidence in them and I will continue to have confidence in the priests here," said a church-goer.
"We will grow more. We will have more faith in our Catholic life and we believe in our priests deeply," said another.
Mr R S Bajwa, Madam Amutha Valli's lawyer, said he was disappointed with the outcome, and plans to discuss with his client whether she wishes to appeal. -
Let us pray for all the parties involved.
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Was it a close hearing? It wasn't announced in the Hearing Notice.
Anyway... here's the report from TNP:
The Electric New Paper :
Exorcism suit dismissed. Judge says defendents' words had
RING OF TRUTH
TIME, location and people involved.By Andre Yeo
15 February 2009
TIME, location and people involved.
These were the only things both sides could agree on, said the judge.
Everything else they had claimed was very different.
But he found the defendants' version to be consistent and the way they and their witnesses answered questions in the witness box had a 'ring of truth'.
With these words, the High Court dismissed the case of a woman against what she called an unauthorised exorcism conducted on her at the Novena Church.
The much-publicised civil suit between Madam Amutha Valli Krishnan, 53, and the church finally came to an end yesterday when Justice Lee Seiu Kin delivered his judgment.
The case had dragged on for more than four years. It stemmed from her allegation that two priests at the church, Father Jacob Ong and Father Simon Tan, and several churchgoers had performed an exorcism on her against her will for more than 21/2 hours on 10 Aug 2004.
Justice Lee noted the defence's witnesses had seen Madam Amutha crawl like a snake, march like a soldier and speak as Lucifer.
He said it would have been very difficult for the 15 witnesses to maintain their evidence while being cross-examined by Madam Amutha's 'very competent counsel', Mr R S Bajwa, 58.
The main thing Justice Lee was unhappy about with the defence witnesses was that they were less than candid about what they were trying to do that night.
They had said they were only praying for her and were not performing an exorcism. But he noticed that the priests had said they had spoken with the spirit of the dead soldier and to Lucifer himself.
Justice Lee said since she was suing them for false imprisonment, assault and battery, and negligence, it did not matter whether what they were doing was called an exorcism or engaging the spirits.
What really mattered, he said, was what they were doing to her and the circumstances under which those acts were carried out.
Not assaulted
He found she and her family members were not prevented from leaving the room, she was not assaulted, and the defendants had acted reasonably that night.
While he found the defence witnesses to be consistent in their testimonies, Justice Lee found that Madam Amutha and her family members kept changing their story.
He found her daughter, Ms Subashini Jeyabal, to be intelligent 'with a sharp mind and an equally sharp tongue'. He said she had claimed she had a close relationship with her mother.
But there was evidence that she had called Madam Amutha a 'slut and prostitute'. It was only then that Ms Subashini had admitted there were problems.
And while she was confident, Justice Lee found her brother, Jairaj, a little less confident.
Justice Lee said: 'I observed he displayed nervous twitches which could be due to the stress of being cross-examined or to the fact he had to maintain a story that was not true.'
He also found that Mr Resham Singh, described as Madam Amutha's sworn brother, had occasionally changed his evidence in the witness box.
He had denied travelling to Malaysia and Australia with her but had to admit to this when confronted with evidence from their passports.
He and her children had also claimed there was a statue of Mother Mary at one corner of the church but evidence showed that there was never a statue there.
Besides these inconsistencies, Justice Lee also noted the attempts Madam Amutha had made to conceal her mental condition from her doctors.
He ruled that she did not suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) because of the events at the church.
What was she suffering from?
But if she was not suffering from PTSD, as her psychiatrists had claimed, what was she suffering from then?
Justice Lee said that was not a question for the court to answer but noted doctors from both sides agreed she was very ill.
He said he found that what had happened that night at the church had not caused her to suffer any damage and that she had not proven her case against the defendants.
He then dismissed her claim and will decide on costs later.
Lawyers from both sides were glad the trial was finally over.
Mr Bajwa said he was naturally disappointed with the outcome but was encouraged by the fact that the judge questioned the defendants' intentions that night.
He said he will be taking instructions from Madam Amutha about whether she was planning to appeal.
Mr Tito Isaac, 38, who represented the Redemptorist Order and Father Simon, was at Sentosa last night with his wife and another couple to have dinner and to celebrate.
Yesterday, lawyers for the case were told they could collect the judgment from the High Court in the late afternoon.
Senior Counsel, Jimmy Yim, 50, who represented Fr Jacob for free, called it a very deserving win.
He said: 'It has been a burden for the church and for these people since August 2004. It was a vigorous battle fought but at the end of the day, the defendants and the church have been liberated by this judgment of truth.' -
the only winners are the lawyers of course .....
let's pray for their souls .....
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deleted
Originally posted by Fatum: -
As Fr Vincent Low said yesterday at the Novena session, let's pray for healings for all parties involved and have a final closure on this sad chapter.
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Originally posted by Fatum:
the only winners are the lawyers of course .....
let's pray for their souls .....
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But she thinks she has won leh.....
The Electric New Paper :
'It is a victory'
SHE lost the case.
By Veena Bharwani
15 February 2009
SHE lost the case.
But Madam Amutha Valli Krishnan still considers herself a winner.
Said the 53-year-old: 'As far as I'm concerned, I won the case.'
She added: 'It is a victory because I took the church and the priests to court.
'They had to stand in front of the judge and answer all the tough questions.
'It was not easy for the wife of an ordinary taxi driver to bring this matter to court.
'But I did it and for that I am happy.'
The New Paper caught up with Madam Amutha Valli at her flat in Ang Mo Kio yesterday.
'Money was not the most important factor to me,' she said.
'Even though the court made a decision against me, I feel that the people and the public are aware of what goes on in some churches.
'They can make the decision for themselves about what is right and what is wrong.'
She said she has sunk about $100,000 into the trial.
She added that she does not know what she is going to do next.
'This trial has taken a very heavy toll on my health and my family's health.
'All the information that was thrown about in court, true or not, hurt me and my family. It is hard to move forward from that,' said Madam Amutha Valli.
She added that her husband Jeybal Suppiah, 59, has suffered from heart problems due to the trial.
'I just want to focus on my meditation and move on from this ordeal. Life has to go on,' she said. -
Originally posted by Fatum:
the only winners are the lawyers of course .....
Originally posted by Honeybunz:Senior Counsel, Jimmy Yim, 50, who represented Fr Jacob for free...
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She want face wat so act like she won.
I thought she was too traumatised so can't think and speak coherently. That's why she could not be put on the stand. Er... now can talk a lot?!
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" She added that she does not know what she is going to do next."
Well, she could start by paying the lawyers
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,192873,00.html
" Losing parties in civil suits have to pay part of the other side's legal fees."Lets see, considering the quality of the lawyers involved and the factthat it took 4 years to resolve.....
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Originally posted by Pennycake:
not for the other side .....
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Originally posted by adetet:
She want face wat so act like she won.
I thought she was too traumatised so can't think and speak coherently. That's why she could not be put on the stand. Er... now can talk a lot?!
Harnor
Suddenly became normal liao.
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It's time for us Christian to show compassion and not to reject our fellow sister.
Is she interested in becoming a catecist?
No I'm serious.
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Originally posted by Miracles&Prophecies:
It's time for us Christian to show compassion and not to reject our fellow sister.
Is she interested in becoming a catecist?
No I'm serious.
Actually, I don't think anyone rejected her.....she goes to the Church for help and then.....and if I am not mistaken, she claimed to be a Catholic but also practice other faiths as well.....if I remember correctly (that is).
So I am not sure if she accept the Catholic faith in the first place.....
What is a catecist?
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Originally posted by Smarty Boy:
Actually, I don't think anyone rejected her.....she goes to the Church for help and then.....and if I am not mistaken, she claimed to be a Catholic but also practice other faiths as well.....if I remember correctly (that is).
So I am not sure if she accept the Catholic faith in the first place.....
What is a catecist?
I don't think she is. She said in court that she was baptised by her friends. How can it be so suka-suka, just like the "exorcism"?
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Originally posted by Smarty Boy:
Actually, I don't think anyone rejected her.....she goes to the Church for help and then.....and if I am not mistaken, she claimed to be a Catholic but also practice other faiths as well.....if I remember correctly (that is).
So I am not sure if she accept the Catholic faith in the first place.....
What is a catecist?
Yea, their family mixed Hinduism & Catholicism, didn't they..?!
I think he meant catechist.
"Catechists are those who are called to serve through teaching, witness, prayer, service and building community."
http://www.catechesis-chicago.org/WhatIsACatechist.htm
no way!
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Originally posted by Kuali Baba:
I don't think she is. She said in court that she was baptised by her friends. How can it be so suka-suka, just like the "exorcism"?
Then she isn't familiar with Catholic faith and she hasn't been baptized. Would someone bring her to the Catholic faith? Wouldn't that be beautiful? -
Religeon poisons everything
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Originally posted by Pennycake:
no way!
Thanks for clearing it up.
You know the biggest sinners make the best saints.I resent myself for never being such a bad person. lol
Just the thought of joining the illuminati makes me sick.
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Originally posted by Uraniumfish:
Religeon poisons everything
You should be glad that there are people who genuinely believe in goodness and holiness worthiness.The world would fell apart when there's only evil left.
To every evil person out there I ask the following question how would you feel when you have to deal with the likes of you yourself on the other side of the fence.
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Originally posted by Miracles&Prophecies:
Thanks for clearing it up.
You know the biggest sinners make the best saints.haha, thinking of St. Augustine & St. Paul?
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I've read a few people who were involved in the occult deep that repented and become a good Christian with spiritual charism that most other Christians lack of.
The conversion was usually really a painful process to go through for the person though. The devil just wouldn't want to give up the person easily.
I believe any grave sinners most likely will become a much better Christian than most once they repent. They usually end up being showered by spiritual gifts. Talk about envy. Just like the story of the lost son.
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Originally posted by Miracles&Prophecies:
Then she isn't familiar with Catholic faith and she hasn't been baptized. Would someone bring her to the Catholic faith? Wouldn't that be beautiful?
Just pray for them (her and family) and believe in the goodness of God.prayers done with the love of God does produce miracles.
God bless
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Originally posted by Miracles&Prophecies:
You should be glad that there are people who genuinely believe in goodness and holiness worthiness.The world would fell apart when there's only evil left.
To every evil person out there I ask the following question how would you feel when you have to deal with the likes of you yourself on the other side of the fence.
If the world has only evil left, this "evil" will be the new "good".
The one who is in power has control, they can justify all their actions.