Chunkee denies man, 80, was her lover

SAYING she is bewildered by his allegations, a 54-year-old woman, in replying to a legal letter asking her to return to her 80-year-old "lover" or be sued, has vehemently denied having a relationship with him.

"We were just friends,"said the woman, whom Harripersad Maharaj affectionately called "Chunkee." She was replying in a one-page letter to attorneys acting for Maharaj.

In July, he threatened to sue her for $200,000 that he said he gave her. Attorney Stephen Boodram, acting for Maharaj, of Central Trinidad, had sent Chunkee a two-page letter in which he outlined Maharaj's affection for her, which led him to give her the money.

Maharaj had contended that he met Chunkee when she was 35 and they started a relationship. He became her handyman, lover and husband. Now that he has grown old, feeble and walking with a stick, Maharaj said, Chunkee no longer wants him.

But he wants her back or he will sue her in the family court for the money he gave her. Maharaj has accused Chunkee of taking the money and returning to live with her previous husband. But he has reached a stage in his life where he needs her to take care of him.

Chunkee replied last week to Maharaj's letter through attorney Renisa Ramlogan, denying that she had anything but a platonic relationship with him. She admits they are friends, but says "at no time did they have a relationship of a sexual nature or live together."

On Chunkee's behalf, Ramlogan said Maharaj's daughter and Chunkee went to the same school, and in fact, she had been good friends with Maharaj's wife.

The letter said, "Your client's daughter and my client went to school together in the same area. Since then, my client has known your client. My client was also a good friend of your client's wife. At all times your client was a married man."

The attorney said in the circumstances, Chunkee is not liable to Maharaj in any manner whatsoever.