Novena Church exorcism suit begins

Miracles&Prophecies SG

Lies don't become the truth even when everybody believes in them.

As surely as the truth doesn't become false even when everybody rejects it.

There's the One who is keeping all the scores for them to be scaled. The Eye of all eyes.

Honeybunz SG

The hearing resumed today!!!!

And I didn't know :(

Woman suing Novena Church will not testify anymore
Posted: 23 June 2008 2237 hrs

Photos 1 of 1

SINGAPORE: A woman suing the Novena Church for allegedly forcing an exorcism on her will no longer appear on the witness stand.

This was revealed after the trial, which was adjourned last November, resumed in the High Court on Monday.

Former part-time tutor, Amutha Valli Krishnan, is suing the church, two priests and six church-goers for allegedly performing the exorcism on 10 August 2004.

Amutha claimed that she had fainted in church while praying and was led to a room where she was restrained and assaulted. But the defendants' version is that her family members had asked the church priests to pray over her because she was possessed and suicidal.

According to Amutha, the incident had traumatised her and she is now unable to live normally.

The 51-year-old was on the witness stand for barely two days when hearing first began last year. Now, her psychiatrist said she is in no position to appear in court to testify anymore. The reasons are expected to be given on Friday.

Another of Amutha's psychiatrists, Dr Ong Thiew Chai, took the stand on Monday. The senior consultant with the Department of Psychological Medicine at Tan Tock Seng Hospital confirmed that Amutha was admitted on a number of occasions.

But defence lawyer, Jimmy Yim, established how Amutha had often asked for leave while hospitalised and had visited her general practitioner for stronger medication.

Dr Ong confirmed that it was unusual for warded patients with post-traumatic stress disorder to get medication outside of the hospital. He also agreed with Mr Yim that it was beyond the expertise of a normal GP to treat such a patient.

The psychiatrist admitted that if he had known Amutha was seeing a GP to get drugs for her condition, he would not have allowed her to leave the hospital.

Lawyers representing the Novena Church priests and other defendants intend to show a DVD recording done by a private investigator in court on Tuesday. That recording aims to show how Amutha behaves normally when she is out in public and shows no fear among strangers, contradicting her behaviour in front of her psychiatrists.

Amutha's lawyers have objected to the screening of this DVD, but the judge will ultimately decide if it will be shown in court.

- CNA/so

Kuali Baba SG

Neither did I. How low will this go now, I wonder.

newcomer SG

OWNED!!!

Honeybunz SG

Neither did I. How low will this go now, I wonder.

I'm so upset!

I was on leave today to rest at home. If I knew, I would have headed to the court. shucks lah. next couple of days busy cannot take leave. I will see if I can take leave on Thursday. hehehe. I wanna go and kaypoh. LOL

dumbdumb! SG

me too

adetet SG

Ha, not surprised that she dare not appear in court. Another snake drama and she will be locked up in Singpore Zoo The testimony of Angelina Chan's boss seems to confirm the rumour circulating around the hospital. I wait to hear the testimony from NUH doctors for the defendents.

I think the family will next go after the doctors to get money FOR VACATION

But her lawyer is a joke lah. people want to wrestle the case from him?! When they had a tough time even finding a lwayer in the first case. Lawyer sama client! Two negatives do not always make a positive!

Honeybunz SG

June 24, 2008

Madam Valli is 'not in a position to give evidence', lawyer says By Selina Lum THE woman at the centre of the Novena Church exorcism case might not take the stand again.

This appears to be the likely scenario as the hearing for the suit filed by Madam Amutha Valli Krishnan resumed yesterday after seven months.

The hearing, which ran for 12 days last year, is slated for 29 days this time around.

She is suing the Redemptorist Order that runs the church, two priests and six church-goers for traumatising her with the alleged forced exorcism in August 2004.

Her first appearance in court in November last year was for all of 15 minutes, marked by shouts and loud sobs. Her second day in the witness stand lasted a few hours the following day, but was cut short after she contradicted herself and appeared unable to recall much of her past.

The question of whether she would return to the stand was yesterday raised by one of the defence lawyers, Mr Tito Isaac.

Her lawyer R. S. Bajwa told the High Court that she was 'not in a position to give evidence'.

Mr Isaac then asked if this was because she was unable to attend court on medical grounds or if it was to avoid being grilled on the stand. Mr Bajwa replied that her psychiatrist, Dr Angelina Chan, would explain on Friday.

Associate Professor Ong Thiew Chai, a senior consultant with the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) - who first examined Madam Valli on Sept 3, 2004 - took the stand yesterday. He had diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder with depression and referred her to Dr Chan, his student.

Madam Valli was admitted to TTSH eight times between 2004 and last year. Senior Counsel Jimmy Yim, for the defence, produced medical records showing that she had gone to general practitioners for drugs while in hospital.

Mr Yim asked Prof Ong whether he was surprised that she had done this. He replied that, in retrospect, he was not, as she had asked for the sedative Stilnox, which he had refused to give her.

But he conceded that it was unusual for a patient to see GPs while in hospital and she was the only such patient he had come across in his 32 years of practice.

Mr Yim also showed Prof Ong a report by a private investigator who, on tailing Madam Valli for months, had found her normal. She also went out often.

This was at odds with how she portrayed herself to Prof Ong: that she feared going out and was constantly anxious. Prof Ong replied that her condition was such that she could be fearful one moment and be able to do things independently the next.

Also taking the stand yesterday was prominent criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan, who used to represent Madam Valli but later discharged himself.

He was called to corroborate the account of her 'sworn brother' Resham Singh, who testified earlier that one of Mr Isaac's lawyers had tried to wrest the case from him. Mr Anandan confirmed that Mr Singh had told him about this and said that he had laughed it off.

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Ariedartin SG

But apparently, quite a few Singaporeans believe that given how the newspapers depict the Church to be on the 'right' side, deduce that the media has a bias towards the Catholic Church. Clinging on to their hardcore belief that Singapore's media is always bad, they decide to side with Madam Valli and believe that the Catholic Church is trying to wriggle its way out by legal loopholes rather than actually fending off a lawsuit of nonsense. In fact, they believe that exorcism actually took place, and allude to this case as 'Singapore's Emily Rose'.

I don't blame them for thinking that the priests actually performed a true exorcism though. After all, in a world where other denominations perform so-called 'exorcisms' every other day as a solution to everything from ailments to poor academics, it's easy for them to think that Catholics will be just as flippant in exorcising demons. It's a problem of a low Church profile, them not knowing it takes before an exorcism can even be considered, and simply taking the less savoury labels of others and blindly applying these onto us by way of their mistaken presumptions. Rest assured, I'm not about to rant about the secularization of the Church, but this highlights a grave concern where the Catholic Church continues to be cover with misconceptions as viewed by the public.

Furthermore, the delusions of Madam Valli that she could conceivably win the case as though we were any other Christian church do not improve the situation. Her irrational behaviour has an ironic consistency to it - it never fails to frustrate the institutions of justice and unnecessarily prolonging the case to the Church's detriment. I just hope this ends quickly. Positive reporting or not, it still attracts too much unnecessary negative publicity about Novena Church and the Archdiocese in general, which by and large do not deserve what is being thrown at them.

adetet SG

Yes, the ironic thing is that if this snake woman had filed a claim against a Protestant Church, I would have believed it. As I have attended a few protestant Churches and during the service, they make an annoucement that people should come forward immediately to the altar so they can pray over them, cast out demons and baptise the unbaptised, immediately. But that is not the way the Catholic Church works. When I read that the charges were filed against the Novena Church, I knew it was bogus. Unfortunately, there are not many non-Catholics like me who think this way.

I don't think all the reporting has been positive for the Church. I remember that before the trial started and at the beginning, the reporting was not positive. It was only when it became apparent that the woman and her family are hoping to get a quick buck that the tone of the reporting changes. But not entirely. Did you see TODAY's newspaper? I wondered at the caption under the psychiatriast's picture : SUSPICIOUS MINDS : Mdm Anutha Vali's psychiatrist, Mr Ong Thiew Chai was put on the stand". huh? You mean the defendants have suspicious minds for putting him on the stand? So to prove their minds are clear, innocent should the defendants just accept the charges? Aren't the views of the psychiastrists she saw - at Changi Hospital and NUH - crucial to the case.

SingaporeMacross SG

St Gerard Majella, patron of the false accused, pray for us..

adetet SG

I believe your St Gerard has already done his work!

I was surprised at the snake woman's psychiatrist. He seems to be too emotional and so not so rational and unbiased. His comments about the defendants lawyers to the reporter(s) seem to prove that point as what he says about the defence lawyers can also be said about the snake woman's lawyer. Yet on the SW's lawyer he is silent. With a psychiatrist like this, its no wonder she thought she got a case.

Honeybunz SG

I believe your St Gerard has already done his work!

He was emotional meh? I thought he was quite mild mannered. I can't blame him for being upset. Cross examination has never been easy on any witness. But then, the lawyers were just doing their job. Before the hearing commenced, the old doctor looked very sad and troubled. What to do? He was just doing his job and treating the patient, who was so difficult to him. Now he kenna this kind of trouble. The grilling was really siong.

I was there for the morning session, cuz I thought I would hear from Dr Angelina Chan. If I am not wrong, Dr Angelina Chan was the one who told Amutha that the latter has a case and can get a settlement (correct me if I am wrong). But the morning session was still on Prof Ong. So I left during lunch break. Too tiring liao.

But it was really interesting lor! hehehe...

the Bear SG

wah piang eh...

when this went silent, i thought she quietly cut her losses and ran off..

i wonder.. would the courts hammer her for false accusations?

Honeybunz SG

wah piang eh...

when this went silent, i thought she quietly cut her losses and ran off..

i wonder.. would the courts hammer her for false accusations?

aiyoh... I even thought the priests feel sorry for her and gave her some settlement money to close the case.

Maybe she'll get struck by lightning before the court can go after her.

the Bear SG

there there...

sometimes, got to show mercy even to those who strike at us...

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do"

but i think in this case, the woman knows exactly what she was doing...

Honeybunz SG

speaking of emotional, the plaintiff lawyer Mr Bajwa was the emotional one, not Dr Ong.

In fact, the court opened with Bajwa making a complaint towards Tito Isaac and he requested the Judge to do something about it. Previously he had already complaint and the Judge issued a warning to Tito.

adetet SG

Honeybunz, I wasn't referring to how he appeared on the stand. I think I mentioned - when he responded to the press! Yes, the lawyers were only doing their job but he got all worked up about it.

And I did say that what he said could be applied to the SW's lawyer but he only got upset with the defendant's lawyers.

Anyway his attitude kinda proves that the rumours circulating around the hospital are true.

It was all about Dr Ong because as he said he made the call and passed the case on to his subordinate. She accepted his judgement. Which was the first part of the rumour - that he is the one who encouraged her to take this position.

Bear, I certainly hope that the snake woman/family have to suffer some kind of punishment for this slander and false accusation.

BTW a few months ago, the daughter's testimony like so can't be bothered about what doctors her mother is seeing or any facet of her mother's life. now too late to act all concern and object to her being labelled as SNAKE WOMAN. A rose by any other name. A snake is a snake - the symbol of lucifer! She so rightly picked the animal to depict!

Honeybunz SG

Honeybunz, I wasn't referring to how he appeared on the stand. I think I mentioned - when he responded to the press! Yes, the lawyers were only doing their job but he got all worked up about it.

And I did say that what he said could be applied to the SW's lawyer but he only got upset with the defendant's lawyers.

Anyway his attitude kinda proves that the rumours circulating around the hospital are true.

Bear, I certainly hope that the snake woman/family have to suffer some kind of punishment for this slander and false accusation.

paiseh. I admit I have soft spot for old people. Perhaps I overlooked other details.

But I do agree that he was not unbiased. During last Fri's hearing, he was gearing towards Amutha's symptoms in his reports were all involuntary (ie. she could not have faked it) but Mr Tan (the defence lawyer) disagreed with him.

I didn't stay for the 2nd half. Tired liao.

adetet SG

No problem, Honeybunz :) Dr Ong does have a sweet, grandfatherly face! Not because I side the defendants that I also think he is overly sympathetic to the SW. How come so convenient her lapses - when she goes to the gym, when she wants to hang out and have fun, she never lapse. Her lapses only when she goes to Changi Hospital? Then must renovate Changi Hospital - very bad fengshui! She can't be the only patient suffering because of bad fengshui in Changi Hospital! hohoho.. so riduclous right?!

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