KUALA LUMPUR: The defence in the case of a girl being sexually assaulted by a disabled teenager in a mosque in Batang Kali, Hulu Selangor, today requested that the accused be referred to a psychiatrist.
Lawyer Lingswaran Singh, representing the 19-year-old accused, told Ampang Sessions Court Judge Norshila Kamarudin that the application to refer his client for psychiatric assessment was made under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“Throughout my interactions with the accused, as well as based on information from his mother, supported by a psychological assessment, the accused displayed behaviour and made statements that raised reasonable doubt.
“All these show that the accused is likely to be suffering from mental health issues and may be incapable of defending himself,” he said.
The court then set July 22 for mention to obtain the status of the accused’s mental health, his medical report and a forensic report of a closed-circuit television (CCTV) recording.
Earlier, the prosecution, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nadiah Malek Fauzie, told the court that there were documents that were still pending, namely the CCTV forensic report and the victim’s medical report from the Selayang Hospital.
The teenager was charged on Feb 27 this year with committing physical sexual assault against the victim, aged 10 years and eight months, at the mosque, at 6.20 am on Feb 12. He initially pleaded guilty but later claimed trial.
The charge, framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a whipping, upon conviction.
