The sister of controversial former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has pointed to morning sickness during questioning about evidence inconsistencies in a Sydney court.
Fatima Elkheir says her and her brother's affidavits are partly identical because they have the "exact same thing to say".
Mr Mehajer is being sued for more than $25,500 by Anping Yan, who says he's owed the money for cleaning work carried out on a Lidcombe development between September 2013 and July 2014.
On Tuesday in the Downing Centre Local Court Ms Elkheir denied looking at her brother's affidavit before preparing her own and said her draft may have been put in slightly different words by the siblings' lawyer.
Under cross examination, Ms Elkheir was asked why testimony that she wasn't sure whether her brother had ever acted as an agent for Downtown Project Developments, which she previously directed, contradicted her written statement prepared three weeks ago.
"I'm not even feeling well," Ms Elkheir, who also couldn't explain why some of Mr Yan's invoices had been made out to Downtown, told the Downing Centre Local Court.
" I've gotten a bit of morning sickness with this twin pregnancy."
The court heard Ms Elkheir and Mr Mehajer made a "verbal" arrangement for the John St buildings' cleaning arrangement, which was held by Downtown, to be subcontracted to her brother's company, SM Project Developments.
Mr Mehajer says he gave Mr Yan a month's termination warning in August 2013 and believes he does not owe the cleaner anything beyond September.
Mr Yan, who first worked for Mr Mehajer in 2008 and speaks little English, called the claim "a lie" in court.
He also said he was never told about a company being involved in his cleaning arrangement and that he first heard of SM Project Developments when liquidators contacted him.
Mr Mehajer was briefly called to the witness box but is expected to give the bulk of his evidence when the hearing returns on January 30.
