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.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS