Indian-origin model accuses Malaysian temple priest of molestation

Lishalliny Kanaran, Miss Grand Malaysia 2021, has made serious allegation against a priest of the Mariamman Temple in Salak Tinggi, Sepang, Malaysia, accusing him of touching her inappropriately.

“This is hard. This is definitely hard for me to share. I’ve been away for some time, and only recently found the courage to return and finally, to speak. I now have the strength to say why,” started Kanaran.

She added that she had only begin going to the said temple recently and on June 21, when her mother was in India, she went to the temple alone.

There, Kanaran met a familiar priest who allegedly approached her and told her that he had “some holy water and a protective string to tie” for Kanara, which he described as a blessing. She alleged that the priest asked her to stay after the prayers.

“I waited for about an hour and a half. Eventually, he told me to follow him. He took the holy water and the string and walked toward the office. Even as I followed, something didn’t feel right. Something in my gut was uneasy,” Kanaran said in her post.

Inside the office, she alleged that the priest splashed strong smelling liquid on her, calling it the holy water, which was usually not given to “ordinary people”.

Kanaran alleged that after that, she was asked to lift up her clothes which she refused to, agitating the priest.

Later, the priest stood behind her as she sat and allegedly touched her inappropriately. In Kanaran’s words, he said it would be a “blessing” if she did “it” with him because he serves God.

“My brain knew everything about that moment was wrong yet I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I froze. And I still don’t understand why,” shared Kanaran.

“I won’t go into more detail. But I was MOLESTED by that priest. And I couldn’t react,” she added.

She revealed that despite reporting the matter to the temple authorities and filing a police complaint on July 4, the management allegedly showed more concern for the temple’s reputation than for the victim’s well-being.

Kanaran claims the priest had been previously reported for similar misconduct, yet no action was taken. She says the investigating officer warned her not to share the incident publicly, suggesting she would be blamed.