Businessman bids to amend defence in broken marriage promise

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KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here will hear on Sept 29 a businessman's application for leave to amend his statement of defence in a RM5.5mil breach of settlement agreement case filed against him by TV3 personality Maria Tunku Sabri.

Senior Assistant Registrar Rumaizah Baharom fixed the date in chambers Wednesday.

Datuk Wan Johani Wan Hussin, 56, is seeking leave to amend his defence to give a full picture of the facts and also his defence to the court.

In the summons-in-chambers filed on July 16, Wan Johani also said that it was necessary to amend his defence following the ruling by the Federal Court that a defendant in a breach of promise to marry proceedings was required to specifically plead the illegality of such agreement based on grounds that the Muslim woman was a married woman at the time the agreement was made.

The provision in the Islamic Family Law stated that a woman married to another man could not enter into a marriage contract with another.

The Federal Court on June 24 allowed the appeal of Maria, host of TV3's "Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan" programme, to revive her suit against Wan Johani and remitted the case back to the High Court for trial.

Maria, 39, in 2004, sought to enforce an agreement under which Wan Johani had promised to pay her RM5.5 million for not instituting any legal action against him for refusing to marry her as promised.

Wan Johani, in his defence, denied knowledge of the contract and in the alternative, pleaded that the agreement was illegal and had elements of threat and coercion.

Maria appealed to the Federal Court after she was unsuccessful in her bid at the High Court and Court of Appeal.

On Feb 22, 2007, a senior assistant registrar summarily struck out her suit after ruling that the case was intertwined with the issue of betrothal which falls under the Syariah Court jurisdiction as both parties were Muslim. The Court of Appeal, on Aug 5, 2008, considered Section 14 (1) of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) 1984 and Section 24 (a) of the Contracts Act 1950 which states that the settlement agreement was forbidden because Maria was a married woman at the time the agreement was entered into.

Maria was represented by counsel Nicholas Netto while counsel Harjinder Singh Sandhu appeared for Wan Johani.