KUALA LUMPUR - A MALAYSIAN prince won a defamation suit on Thursday against his teenage wife who accused him of sexual and physical abuse after she fled back home to Indonesia.
The High Court ruled in favour of Tengku Fakhry Ismail Petra, a prince in Malaysia's northern Kelantan state, because his wife had no lawyers to represent her, said the prince's lawyer, Mr Mohamad Haaziq Pillay.
The prince had sought RM105 million (S$41.93 million) from Ms Manohara Odelia Pinot and her mother for making false allegations against him, but the court would decide later how much they should pay him, Mr Mohamad Haaziq said. The prince's lawyer said they would look into what legal measures can be taken later to obtain payment from Ms Pinot. However, he stressed that Tengku Fakhry was more concerned about simply clearing his name.
'My client feels vindicated,' Mr Mohamad Haaziq told The Associated Press. 'They made him look like a monster, they tarnished his reputation internationally, but it has all been lies.
This was their opportunity to come back to prove their case against him, but they failed to do so.' Ms Pinot's lawyer in Jakarta could not immediately be reached for comment.
Malaysian lawyers hired by Ms Pinot in the defamation case quit in September, saying she had not cooperated with them, gave them no clear instructions and refused to return to Malaysia for discussions. The High Court then said it would automatically rule in favour of the prince if Ms Pinot failed to appoint new lawyers. -- AP
