Singer Kamahl had swapped his anxiety medication for herbal remedies when he allegedly sent threatening messages to a woman over an unpaid $2,000 loan, a Sydney court has been told.
A magistrate dismissed a charge of intimidation against the 89-year-old at Sutherland local court on Monday, ruling the matter should be dealt with on mental health grounds.
Kandiah Kamalesvaran, better known by his stage name Kamahl, was charged after allegedly sending several messages that included a threat to strangle a woman with whom he had previously been friends.
When the woman was asked to repay the loan, she responded with claims Kamahl molested her, which prompted the singer to react the way he did, the court was told.
The woman had offered to repay her debt to Kamahl in weekly $5 instalments, the court heard, sending the first payment with the description: “To the molester.”
He then messaged the woman, calling her among other things an “ungrateful stupid bitch”, the court was told.
“He reacts impulsively,” Kamahl’s barrister, Arjun Chhabra, said on Monday. “Then he makes the foolish, potentially criminal utterance.”
Chhabra said his client had stopped taking medication for anxiety and depression at the time after being convinced by a friend to instead rely on herbal injections.
“That was plainly foolish advice from that acquaintance,” he said.
Kamahl’s daughter arrived in Australia on the day of the allegedly intimidating messages to find him and his home in a “dishevelled state”, the court was told.
She later re-established the singer’s connection with health professionals and took control of his finances, Chhabra said.
The magistrate, Paul Lyon, said Kamahl had become concerned over how he would explain the molestation claim to his daughter and estranged wife.
Kamahl’s solicitor, Bobby Hill, said outside court that the singer maintained the molestation allegation was completely baseless and was crafted by the woman to avoid paying her debt.
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“Despite the allegation made by the complainant, NSW police have never charged Kamahl with any sexual offence,” he said after the court ruling.
Kamahl had also threatened to commence defamation proceedings against the woman over her claim, Hill said.
Lyon imposed a two-year apprehended violence order on the singer which prevents him from approaching or contacting the woman. It was agreed to by the parties.
“It’s terribly, terribly important that people, and particularly men, when they communicate with women … do it in a respectful way,” the magistrate said.
Kamahl rose to prominence with two charting singles in the late 1960s and mid-1970s, as well as his repeat appearances on the long-running variety show Hey Hey It’s Saturday.
The Malaysian-born singer was made a member of the Order of Australia in 1994.
Hill said Kamahl had worked hard to get his cognitive and mental health back on track over the past six months and was eager to put the matter behind him.
Source: www.theguardian.com