Qamar, a singer and long-time TV personality, is fighting allegations that he has threatened women via text message for mental health reasons.
Kandia Kamalesvaran, better known by his stage name, did not appear in Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday after his lawyer applied for the case to be dismissed due to his mental state.
Speaking outside court, his lawyer Bobby Hill said the 89-year-old man had not been charged with stalking as some media had reported, nor had he been charged with “using offensive language”.
“He’s been charged with blackmail,” Hill said, confirming the charges stemmed from a dispute over money his client had loaned to the alleged victim, a 38-year-old woman.
Text messages were then exchanged between the two which police allege contained threatening messages towards the victim.
The charges span a period between May 21, 2023 and March 10, when Qamar is alleged to have put the woman in fear of physical or mental harm through his actions.
Mr Hill said Qamar’s cognitive ability and mental state would be a “primary focus” of the trial, but acknowledged that Qamar had not been taking drugs at the time of the allegations.
“He’s an 89-year-old man, and I’m sure a lot of people in the community will understand the difference in cognitive ability between an 89-year-old man and other residents,” he said.
Kamal filed a motion in October to have the charges dismissed on mental health grounds, and if the motion is denied, a trial is scheduled for November.
Police also applied for a non-assault order on the plaintiff’s behalf.
The Malaysian-born singer rose to fame with two hit singles between the late 1960s and the mid-1970s, as well as repeated appearances on the long-running variety show Hey Hey It’s Saturday.
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