Teresa Kok

19 Aug 2006
New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: The “abducted wife” saga took a twist yesterday when it was revealed that Dr S. Sargunadevi had lodged a police report claiming that she left her husband of her own free will.

This revelation from police came hours after the husband, sales executive Rakesh Maniam, accused the police of not acting on his “abduction” report.

Rakesh is claiming that Sargunadevi was abducted by her relatives who disapproved of their marriage.

She was allegedly taken away from him during a meeting between his family and her family at a hotel on Aug 1.

He claimed that at the meeting, the relatives demanded that his wife go with them before they forcibly took her away, with the help of seven burly men.

Rakesh, 26, claimed that Dr Sargunadevi’s parents and some of her relatives did not approve of their marriage because of the disparity in their academic qualifications.

He is a diploma holder while she is a medical doctor.

At a Press conference held at Seputeh MP Teresa Kok’s office yesterday, Rakesh questioned why police were taking such a long time in finding his wife.

“The police know the identities of those involved in the abduction. So why are they not acting?” he asked.

Also present were Rakesh’s father Maniam Vallipuram and lawyer S.N. Nair.

Rakesh expected police to act quickly as the incident happened at a public area where there were witnesses.

“I am concerned with my wife’s safety. It has been 18 days since she was taken away from me,” Rakesh said.

He said the last contact he had with his wife was on Aug 10 when he received a phone call from her.

“She had borrowed a mobile phone from a cleaner at the Kota Kinabalu airport to tell me where she was.

“That is all she said before hanging up,” Rakesh said.

He said his efforts to contact his wife or her parents were futile as all his calls went unanswered.

Meanwhile, a Malacca police officer said investigations are still going on.

“At the moment, though, we are facing a problem as the wife had lodged a report saying she had returned to her family of her own free will,” the officer said.

In an earlier report, police had said they had recorded statements from six people, including Dr Sargunadevi’s father in connection with her alleged abduction.

Meanwhile, Kok said she would be taking the matter up with the Federal police.

“The police must answer why they seem to be dragging their feet in this case. In other kidnapping cases, if there are possible suspects, they would have been remanded to help with investigations,” Kok said.

Lawyer Nair said the police should treat this case as a kidnap and not a family squabble. “Legally, she should be with her husband,” he said.