V.K. Moorthy was born on 13 June 1929 in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. He was the oldest of five children to his father Velupillai and his mother Chinnamah.
Obtaining a place to read Economics at Leeds University, he set sail for England in 1956. He was a brilliant student and a gifted, witty orator, representing his university at Inter-Varsity debates. He completed his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Economics in July 1959, specialising in Money and Banking. He sailed home to take up a position as a bank officer in United Commercial Bank Ltd in Singapore.
Following his marriage, he returned to England to read law at Lincoln’s Inn. He was called to the English Bar in 1965. During this period he attended the Dale Carnegie courses and won 1st prize in Public Speaking. He returned to Malaysia and upon completion of his Articleship he was duly admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1966. He worked first for the UMBC Bank and subsequently for Esso Malaysia Bhd from Oct 1966 as their first Legal Advisor. He was elected a Fellow of the London Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in 1972 (F.C.I.S.).
In January 1978, he moved to Melbourne, Australia with his family. He taught law at Monash University for four years and enrolled for the Masters in Law (LL.M) part time at Monash.
Having long enjoyed the best of health, being a keen squash player and swimmer, he unexpectedly suffered a mild heart attack in 1980 and underwent coronary artery bypass grafting. He returned to Malaysia in 1982 with his wife and son to enter private practice in Kuala Lumpur, setting up his own firm of V.K. Moorthy & Co. His professional life entered its zenith as he thrived in independent private practice. He loved his work, loved the law. A born academic, he never hesitated to teach his junior colleagues the in and outs of the practice of law, giving legal advice and opinions for free. He was popular with his clients for his prompt, punctual and thorough handling of work, often rendering service without counting the cost.
In May 1996, he suffered an infection of a heart valve, this caused a strain on the heart which resulted in a massive heart attack on 27 October 1996. He then slipped into heart-failure and gradually became weaker. This was heart-breaking to see as he had so much that he still wanted to do, so many travel plans with his beloved brothers, all the things he had been putting off until retirement. Before he could suffer anymore, God mercifully took him away to a place where there is no more suffering or fear, only joyful reunion with departed loved ones. He has shed his flawed cumbersome body and become free. We who love him await the time we can meet again.