Malaysian govt denies cover-up in Kelantan prince scandal

By Channel NewsAsia's Malaysia Bureau Chief Melissa Goh

Posted: 03 June 2009 0029 hrs

Manohara Odelia Pino, 17, is kissed by her mother as she arrives at her residence in Jakarta

KUALA LUMPUR : The Malaysian government has denied any cover-up in the alleged abuse of the teenage Indonesian model wife by her Malaysian prince husband.

The Minister in the Prime Minister's department Nazri Aziz will investigate if a formal report is lodged, as he said no one is above the law.

Meanwhile, the Kelantan royal family has denied all allegations of wrongdoing by Tengku Mohd Fakhry, also known as Tunku Temengganong.

17-year-old Manohara Odelia Pinot made the front page of Malaysian papers after news of her dramatic escape shocked the nation.

The teary teenage model claimed that she was sexually abused and tortured by her husband Tengku Mohd Fakhry, who treated her, she said, like a toy.

Last August, the then 16-year-old Manohara, whose father is French, married the 31-year-old prince.

Now back in Jakarta, she said she has had enough, and is filing for a divorce.

Manohara's mother Daisy Fajarina has also vowed to press charges against the prince pending a full medical report.

Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, government officials say they are in the dark as there has been no formal report lodged so far.

"He just happens to be the son of the Sultan... no one is above the law. This report is criminal act against the state and we will take action," said Minister Nazri, a Minister in the Prime Minister's department.

The Kelantan royal family, has also dismissed the allegations as slanderous and defended its youngest prince.

"Prove it. Manohara must be prepared to go to an independent doctor in Australia or France, only then it's fair," argued Mohd Sabri Shafiee, a spokesman for Tengku Fakhry.

Mohd Sabri, who is a close friend of Tengku TT - as the prince is commonly known - also expressed hopes that Manohara will apologise to clear the air.

He said: "Impossible as a human being that he can be cruel when we all know that he loves her so much. Tengku will not run away; we'll make sure the truth comes out.

He later produced footage of the couple's happy moments together. "To repair the damage, Manohara needs to tell the truth, seek the husband's forgiveness and Tengku TT will take her back," said Mohd Sabri.

He blamed Manohara's mother, whom he described as materialistic, for messing up the daughter's marriage which otherwise could have worked.

"She wants everything - house, cars, you name it. I don't want to go into details," said Mohd Sabri.

In a statement issued, the Kelantan royal family urged the media to respect their privacy and not to play up on the scandal that is fast becoming a major embarrassment to the royal family. - CNA /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Teen model escapes 'abusive' Malaysian prince

This is the version from Yahoo! News…

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AFP - Tuesday, June 2

JAKARTA (AFP) - - A teenage US-Indonesian model has returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture at the hands of a Malaysian prince, after her dramatic escape with the help of Singapore police.

Manohara Odelia Pinot, 17, told reporters she was treated like a sex slave after her marriage last year to Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, the prince of Malaysia's Kelantan state.

Her mother, Daisy Fajarina, said she would press charges against the 31-year-old prince, and blamed the Malaysian and Indonesian governments for trying to cover up the alleged abuse.

"The things I've been afraid of were revealed to be true. Manohara has suffered physical abuse. She's got several razor cuts on her chest," Fajarina told AFP on Monday.

"No parent could be silent if their child was treated in such a barbaric way."

The Malaysian government had ignored her pleas for access to her daughter and had blocked her from entering the country, she said, while the Indonesian embassy had said that Manohara was fine with her new husband.

But the young woman -- a well-known socialite in Jakarta -- said her life at the royal palace involved a "daily routine" of rape, abuse, torture and occasional drug injections that made her vomit blood.

She said she was usually held under guard in her bedroom at the palace and was injected with tranquilisers whenever she complained.

"I am still traumatised by all that happened and it has left an impact on me," she told reporters in Jakarta on Sunday, after escaping the royal family during a trip to Singapore over the weekend.

"Sexual abuse and sexual harassment were like a daily routine for me, and he did that every time I did not want to have sexual intercourse," she was quoted as saying in The Jakarta Globe.

"I could never think a normal man could do such things," she said, adding: "Some parts of my body were cut by a razor."

"I've been treated like an animal. I'm like his property and I was in his room and whenever he wants to play with me he just goes into the room and plays with me. I'm like an object."

The teenager -- whose fairy-tale wedding to a prince captured the imagination of Indonesia -- said she would be tortured if she did not appear to be happy when she attended social functions with Fakhry.

She said she secretly called Singaporean police and pleaded for help after the royal family took her to Singapore when they accompanied Fakhry's father, Sultan Ismail Petra Shah II, for medical treatment.

"The police told Fakhry that he would be held in jail if he did not let me go. No one could force me against my will in Singapore and I knew I had a chance to escape," she said.

The model once voted as being among Indonesia's "100 Precious Women" said she escaped her guards by pushing the Singapore hotel elevator's emergency button.

They were reluctant to chase her because they knew the scene would be captured on security cameras.

She blasted the Indonesian embassy in Malaysia, saying: "They made it worse by telling lies, saying that I was fine while I was suffering in Kelantan."

A spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry insisted the embassy had done everything it could to help Manohara and said the government would assist her if she wanted to file charges against her husband.

But Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the government would not investigate the allegations.

"I think this is more of a personal matter. To date we have not been dragged into it, so we want to leave it as it is," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia's royal rulers used to enjoy immunity from criminal and civil charges but the privilege was removed in 1993.

There has been no comment from the Kelantan royal family.

Manohara's lawyer, Yuri Darmas, said she would have a medical examination to back up her allegations of abuse.

"We need one to two days to gather evidence before we file a lawsuit to the Malaysian police," he said, adding that he intended to pursue criminal and civil lawsuits against the prince.

Manohara has already filed for divorce, her mother said.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

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