Church sued over 'exorcism'

Church sued over 'exorcism'

Woman claims damages for trauma of alleged exorcism by two priests and helpers at Novena Church

Wednesday • August 30, 2006

— Channel NewsAsia

NOVENA Church, two priests and seven helpers are being sued for an alleged act of exorcism, in an incident believed to have taken place two years ago.

Ms Amutha Valli Krishnan, 50, an athlete in the 1980s, claimed that attempts to exorcise her later led to chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. A writ of summons was served last Thursday.

In the writ, Ms Amutha Valli claimed that on August 10, 2004, she went to Novena Church to pray with her son, daughter and a close friend. She fainted while she was there.

She is alleging that two priests from the church, Father Simon Tan and Father Jacob Ong, claimed she had been possessed by a spirit, and then performed an act of exorcism, helped by seven others.

The ritual is said to have lasted two-and-a-half hours, during which time Ms Amutha Valli claimed she had resisted furiously. She claimed she was strangled, pinned down and verbally abused.

When contacted, Father Tan claimed Ms Amutha Valli did not faint in church. In fact, he said, she had walked in asking for help, saying she was possessed.

Father Tan also denied any act of exorcism. He said he, Father Ong and seven helpers only said prayers over her.

Ms Amutha Valli's claims against the defendants include trespass, assault, false imprisonment and negligence. She is also asking for damages for loss of income and injuries.

Mr Suppiah Jeyabal, her husband, said: "Before, she was an athlete and ... a very tough person, you know, who (liked) to exercise; she must run and exercise. She also used to coach children — a very tough and active person.

"But now, she's more like a vegetable."

A medical report by a Changi General Hospital psychiatrist states that Ms Amutha Valli's symptoms — which are persistent, severe and extremely disabling —- are a direct result of the traumatic incident she experienced at the church.

According to the report, this has affected her ability to cope with self-care, demands at home and relationships with family members. The doctor added that she would require long-term treatment and follow-up, and is unlikely to fully recover.

Ms Amutha Valli's lawyer said it is still too early to comment, but he believed this is the first such case in Singapore.

The lawyer for the defendants says his clients deny liability and will file their defence by Sept 16. The civil suit is estimated to cost at least $1 million.

Just incidentally, last Sunday's papers quoted a Novena priest describing an exorcism in which a very shy girl suddenly having immense strength. Are priests allowed to share such things?

Back to this case, the Church takes exorcisms extremely seriously, so I doubt that the priests would have performed an exorcism so wantonly. Also, I don't see any reason that the priests should lie. However, there is enough evidence to say that something happened, and that this lady suffered for it. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Did the priests do something wrongly? Is this women a pathelogical liar? Will people be afraid to go the Novena Church now?

With the Catholic Church being in the public limelight yet again, I do hope that we do nothing to affect our public image negatively, and I do hope that we actually put a positive light to this sorry incident. It is times like this where I wonder if the church should have a full time publicist. I hope that the evidence reassures the public that we do not abuse and exorcise people like so, and I also hope that the women receives fair recourse and all the help that she needs. Even if the church wins this case, which it should I think, it must be careful not to come across as having condemned this women as a madwomen and putting her down just as a liar.

In my view, the church has not given a good account of itself in the public eye in recent times. There was the vague response to the tsunami. There was silence on the Nguyen (btw, there is another drug trafficker due for execution) and casino issues when other churches were more clear on their stances. The Da Vinci Code has surely damaged some opinion, and the Joaquim Kang case got a lot of publicity, but scarcely a squeak from the church. Through it all, I do feel that a normal person will just be that slight bit less inclined to find out about the church and know Christ through all the negative perceptions in the public eye. To do justice to our faith, we need to project a good impression of our faith.