Australian singer Kamahl to fight intimidation charge after he was accused of stalking a woman 50 years his junior

Popular musician Kamahl has asked for his charges to be dismissed on mental health grounds after he was charged with intimidating a woman 50 years his junior.

Police allege the 89-year-old entertainer, whose real name is Kandiah Kamalesvaran, sent threatening text messages to a 38-year-old woman he had lent money to.

Kamahl told Nine News that he had met with the woman in May 2023 and agreed to loan her $2000 for a business that she agreed to repay in $5 instalments.

A dispute allegedly arose when she used a derogatory epithet in her transaction description, leading to a flurry of text messages between the woman and Kamahl.

He was charged with stalking with intent to cause fear and the woman applied for an apprehended violence order against him.

The veteran entertainer's lawyer Bobby Hill faced Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday, where he foreshadowed a section 14 application to dismiss the charge on the grounds of his client's mental health.

He told the court there was a 'large amount of medical material' to be considered during the mental health hearing, which has been set down for October 14.

The mental health application hearing is expected to run for less than half an hour.

If the mental health application is unsuccessful, Mr Hill told the court the singer would plead not guilty to the intimidation charge.

A hearing would take place on November 25 and run for two hours, the court heard.

Kamahl has been a mainstay in the Australian music scene for the past six decades, with frequent guest appearances on Hey Hey It's Saturday and international hits such as Sounds of Goodbye and The Elephant Song.

In 2021, he announced he had split with his wife after 55 years of marriage. In an interview, the singer blamed the separation on his prolific use of X (formerly Twitter).

However, Kamahl appears to have deleted his profile on the social media platform since the allegations of stalking became public.