The court ruled that leave is not required for applications regarding the appointment of committees for mentally disordered persons under the Mental Health Act and emphasized the welfare of such individuals.

[1] This is an application (encl 21) brought by the Defendants to strike out the originating summons filed by the Plaintiff dated 14 September 2015 ('OS') pursuant to O 18 r 19 (1)(a), (b), (c) and (d) of the Rules of 2012.

[2] The Plaintiff is the legally adopted daughter of Liew Kee Hooi and Choo Wee Thim.

[3] The First Defendant is the brother of Choo Wee Thim who is married to Liew Kee Hooi. The Second Defendant is the wife of the First Defendant.

Salient Background Facts

[4] By a Civil Suit no 22 NCVC-144-09/2015 dated 14 September 2015 also filed in the Penang high Court ('Civil Suit') concurrently with the OS, the Plaintiff sued the Defendants for unlawfully interfering with the rights of the Plaintiff as the relative (within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 2001 ) of her parents and for negligence in connection thereto. In that Civil Suit, the Plaintiff also sued Pulau Pinang Clinic Sdn Bhd (the owner of the Penang Gleneagles hospital) ('PPCSB') for negligence by reason of various failures and omissions on the part of PPCSB in relation to the care and management of both parents of the Plaintiff who were and are still warded in the Penang Gleneagles hospital.

[5] The principal object of the OS is to get the Court to appoint a committee of Choo Wee Thim and the committee of the estate of Choo Wee Thim as well as a committee of Liew Kee Hooi and the committee of the estate of Liew Kee Hooi pursuant to the Mental Health Act 2001 (' MHA ') by reason that they were allegedly non compos mentis.

[6] The Civil Suit and the OS first came before me for case management on 27 January 2016. In view of the complexity of the case and inter-connectedness of both the Civil Suit and OS, I directed that they be decided together after the conclusion of the trial of the Civil Suit. Furthermore, by reason of the advanced age of both the Plaintiff's parents, I fixed the Civil Suit for early trial on 25 and 26 April 2016. It was clear to me and the parties that the evidence to be led in the Civil Suit which included the testimony of the doctors who treated the Plaintiff's parents would be necessary for me to conclusively determine whether the Plaintiff's parents are non compos mentis. There was no doubt from a lay point of view that her parents are likely non compos mentis because Choo Wee Thim is believed to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease and Liew Kee Hooi suffered several hemorrhagic strokes in 2015. In that sense, the aforesaid mental capacity of Choo Wee Thim and Liew Kee Hooi as it then prevailed was not disputed by the parties.

[7] The trial of the Civil Suit commenced on 25 and 26 April 2016 as scheduled and was thereafter postponed to 10, 11, 12, 15 and 16 August 2016 for continued hearing because of the extensive number of witnesses called by the parties, particularly the doctors who have treated Choo Wee Thim and Liew Kee Hooi.

[8] The Defendants then on 18 April 2016 decided to file this application to strike out the OS notwithstanding that I have earlier ruled and directed that the OS would be determined together with the Civil Suit after conclusion of the trial of the Civil Suit.

Striking Out Application

[9] The cause papers relating to this application comprised of the following:-

(i) Defendants' notice of application dated 18 April 2016;

(ii) Defendants' affidavit in support affirmed by Koay Siew Huar on 15 April 2016;

(iii) Plaintiff's notice of intention to use affidavit dated 2 May 2016; and

(iv) Plaintiff's affidavit in reply affirmed by Liw Ju Min on 5 May 2