She owes $373k to defendants but husband claims that most of the items are his purchases
By
Carolyn Quek
A WOMAN who took the Novena Church to court and lost has had some belongings from her home seized for not paying the hundreds of thousands she owes in legal fees.
A bailiff went to Madam Amutha Valli's Ang Mo Kio home in April and seized 15 items, including a 42-inch plasma TV set.
What she owes
MADAM Amutha Valli has to pay more than $373,000 to the defendants in the Novena 'exorcism' case. Here is the breakdown:
The Novena Church and Father Simon Tan, represented by Mr Tito Isaac: More than $67,600 for disbursements
But her husband, Mr Suppiah Jeyabal, is fighting the seizure, saying that most of the items are his.
The dispute has come before a High Court assistant registrar and will be heard again next Wednesday, also in chambers.
Madam Valli, 53, sued the church, two Catholic priests and six churchgoers in 2006, claiming they had left her with post-traumatic stress disorder after they forced an exorcism attempt on her in August 2004.
But after 32 days of hearing, the former national race walker and private tutor lost the case on Feb 13 this year.
In March, she was ordered to pay some $373,000 for the defendants' legal fees.
The bulk of the costs, $300,000, covers lawyers' fees for the six churchgoers, and other expenses they had incurred during the trial.
Three of them were represented by Mr Denis Tan and the other three by Mr Anthony Lee.
Madam Valli was also ordered to pay more than $67,600 in disbursements for ancillary expenses incurred during the trial to the church and Father Simon Tan, one of the priests in the case.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.
