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SINGAPORE: One of the two priests at the centre of the Amutha Valli forced exorcism trial, said no exorcism has ever been performed in Singapore.
Testifying in a packed courtroom, Father Simon Tan took the witness stand on Wednesday for the first time since the trial started seven months ago.
The Catholic Church's definition of exorcism was under scrutiny in the High Court. Father Simon Tan told a packed court that several conditions need to be satisfied in order for an exorcism to be carried out.
First, the Archbishop has to appoint a priest. The person to be exorcised must be medically examined to ensure his or her condition is not due to an illness. The priest must also fast before performing the rite of casting out the spirit.
Mr RS Bajwa, representing Amutha Valli, asked Father Tan if he had known about Amutha's depression, to which Father Tan denied knowing it was clinical depression.
The priest said that in his ten years of service at Novena Church, depressed people often came to him to be prayed over and Amutha had been similarly brought to the church by her family to be prayed for.
Father Tan said the church would usually call for an ambulance if a person faints. In this case, Amutha did not faint. Instead, she became violent, slithered on the floor like a snake and spoke in a soldier's voice.
The hearing continues in the High Court. - CNA/vm
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