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KUALA LUMPUR: The mental health investigation of former Federal Minister Tun S. Samy Vellu will be closed to the public and the media after the High Court allowed a request by his son Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari to keep the matter private.
Attorney David Mathews, who represents Vell Paari, told The Star that the Superior Court granted the request on October 2.
The request was filed with Judge Wong Chee Lin on September 27.
“There is a protection or sealing order in effect related to the investigation. I cannot say more,” he said.
Mathews, however, clarified that a sealing order was not the same as a media gag order.
A news portal reported in October that Vell Paari had requested a closure order in the case between him and his father in connection with a mental health investigation into the latter under section 52 of the Mental Health Act 2001.
The news report said that the request indicated for all cause documents, affidavits including evidence, medical reports, letters and other documents that have been presented in court so that they are not available for evidence or to make copies in any form that not for the use of the plaintiff or defendant.
The report also said that the plaintiff requested that the case be heard behind closed doors, that the dates of the case not be released to the public, and that only the plaintiff and the defendant be notified of the process.
Other reasons indicated that Samy Vellu’s private mental health information should not be disclosed to the media as he is a high profile public figure and there was a real danger that this information could be used by outside parties who have a personal interest in the case. if it was made public.
On September 11, Judge Wong Chee Lin allowed Vell Paari’s lawsuit for her father to undergo a mental health checkup.
Vell Paari had filed the initial subpoena in December of last year, seeking an investigation under the Mental Health Act of 2001 to determine whether his father had a mental disorder that would render him unable to handle himself and his affairs.
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