A police inspector accused of ramming a traffic policeman has been ordered to undergo a mental examination, with his lawyer citing a history of schizophrenia.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here today ordered a police inspector who allegedly rammed a traffic policeman to undergo a mental examination at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Tanjong Rambutan, Perak.
Judge Mazuliana Abdul Rashid made the order after counsel G. Nanda Goban, representing Muhammad Kamal Raj Shanmugam Abdullah, 41, informed the court that his client suffered from schizophrenia.
“The accused’s family has instructed that no bail application be made. Based on records, my client’s last medical leave was in February this year and up to that point, he was in a stable condition as he was undergoing follow-up treatment and taking medication, but he stopped after February.
“Prior to this incident, the accused’s father had lodged a police report requesting that he be taken to hospital, but he fled. We therefore apply for a court order for the accused to undergo a mental examination under Section 342(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code,” said the lawyer.
Nanda said that given his client’s mental health history, the examination was necessary to determine whether the accused was fit to stand trial.
According to the charge, Muhammad Kamal, who previously served with the Kedah Police Contingent, was accused of attempting to murder Constable Roslan Salleh by ramming him with a Perodua Axia, knowing that such an act could cause death.
“I am suffering from black magic, I cannot remember,” said the accused after the charge was read out to him.
The offence was allegedly committed at Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra here at 10.47 pm on April 10.
The charge, under Section 307 of the Penal Code, provides imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine, upon conviction, and if the act causes injury, the offender can be jailed for up to 20 years.
Deputy Public Prosecutor J. Banusha did not propose bail as the offence was non-bailable and informed the court that there were no special circumstances to justify bail in this case.
“The victim is a public servant, namely a traffic policeman, who was rammed and sustained serious injuries. This case has also attracted public attention and I therefore applied that no bail be granted and that the court fix a mention date,” she said.
The court did not allow bail and fixed May 14 for mention of the case.
Meanwhile, before Magistrate Tg Syazwany Yasmyn Tuan Roslan, Muhammad Kamal was charged with another count of driving the same vehicle in a reckless and dangerous manner at Jalan Loke Yew here at 4.10 pm on April 13.
The charge was framed under Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and a fine of up to RM15,000, as well as disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence for not less than five years, and cancellation of the probationary driving licence, upon conviction.
However, no plea was recorded and the court issued a similar order for the accused to be sent to hospital for a mental examination.
“The same order applies to six other cases which the accused is expected to face, and no bail is granted,” said Tg Syazwany, fixing June 9 for mention.
Speaking to reporters after the proceedings, Nanda said his client and the family wished to apologise to the injured policeman and several vehicle owners affected by the incident.
“We pray that the policeman makes a full recovery,” he said.
In the incident at 10.47 pm on April 10, the traffic policeman was reported to have sustained injuries to his hand, the back of his head and his ribs after being hit from behind by the suspect’s vehicle while he was controlling traffic at Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra.
