Legendary singer Kamahl will fight to have a charge of intimidating a woman dealt with on mental health grounds, while his lawyer said he denies the allegation.
The 89-year-old entertainer is accused of intimidating a 38-year-old woman in two text messages after he lent her $2000 for a business when they met last year.
Kamahl’s lawyer says the singer denies the allegations.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Kamahl claims there was an agreement for the woman to repay him in $5 instalments, and in one transaction description, she referred to him as a “molester”, Nine News reported in May.
There is no suggestion that Kamahl has committed any sex-related crime.
Kamahl’s lawyer Bobby Hill spoke to journalists outside Sydney’s Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday, after telling magistrate Jillian Kiely his client would seek to have the intimidation charge dealt with under mental health legislation.
While the specific charge the entertainer faces is stalking or intimidating with intent to cause fear of physical or mental harm, Hill said “Kamahl is not charged with stalking”.
“He’s not charged with using distasteful language. He’s charged with the offence of intimidation. The police are required to prove that Kamahl was intimidating,” Hill said, adding the intimidation allegation was “very specific”.
“It was a lengthy conversation between Kamahl and the complainant relating mainly to a loan that was given to the complainant almost a year earlier,” Hill said.
“Kamahl requested payment for that loan; there were allegations that are denied relating to the relationship between the complainant and Kamahl … and there were two very specific text messages where words were used in which the police allege those words intimidated the complainant. The police are required to prove Kamahl intended to intimidate the complainant.”
Nine News previously reported that Kamahl swore at the woman during the text exchange, called her a liar and warned “the best is yet to come”.
On Wednesday, Hill told journalists the intimidation charge did not relate to the words “the best is yet to come”. He would not be drawn on which words underpinned the charge.
‘I’m sure many people in the community would appreciate the cognitive difficulties of an 89-year-old man.’
Bobby Hill, Kamahl’s lawyer
In relation to the alleged “molester” reference, Hill said: “People can think what they can think about how someone would respond to an unfounded allegation”.
Hill said Kamahl had willingly said he recently stopped taking medication at the time of the text exchange.
“His cognitive health is going to be a major feature of these proceedings,” he said outside court, adding Kamahl was seeking to divert the charge away from the criminal justice system and into the hands of a medical professional.
“I’m sure many people in the community would appreciate the cognitive difficulties of an 89-year-old man,” he said.
Kamahl did not face court for the brief mention of his case.
Inside court, Kiely set down a date of October 14 for Kamahl to make a section 14 application for the matter to be dealt with on mental health grounds.
If that fails, he will fight the charge in a hearing on November 25.
In the interview with Nine News following his arrest, Kamahl said he had dinner with the woman in May last year when she asked for business funding.
The singer, born Kandiah Kamalesvaran in Malaysia, said he “was not being unkind”.
“I was responding to a situation without all of my faculties … I’m an 89-year-old man and I reacted at the spur of the moment,” he said.
“I’m not worried, meaning that it is what it is, but any publicity is better than no publicity.”
An apprehended violence order was applied for by police on behalf of the complainant.
The veteran entertainer was a frequent guest on Hey Hey It’s Saturday and had hits with the singles Sounds of Goodbye and The Elephant Song.
He made headlines during the Voice to parliament debate when he took to social media platform X to share his views on the matter, flipping between supporting the Yes and No campaigns.
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