A forty-five-year-old Indian national faced murder and attempted murder charges after causing grievous hurt to his co-worker and death to another fellow countryman at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) recently, Brudirect reported.
In the Bandar Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Chief Magistrate Muhammed Faisal PD Kefli granted DPP Rozaimah Rahman’s application for the defendant, Sekar Appavu, to undergo psychiatric evaluation before entering any plea as police have reason to believe the defendant is of unsound mind. The adjournment will also allow further investigations by the Special Investigations Unit of the Ong Sum Ping CID Police.
Sekar is alleged to have murdered Rajendran Kumarasam, 45, and attempted to murder Pazhanivelu Sivalinkam, 40, at about 12.30pm on December 20 at Universiti Brunei Darussalam’s Green House, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong.
The penalty for murder is death while attempted murder is punishable by an imprisonment extended to 20 years. He may be liable to a fine and life imprisonment for causing grievous hurt to the victim in the attempt.
Chief Magistrate Faisal ordered the defendant to be remanded at the Jerudong Prison while investigations are ongoing and his mental evaluation is conducted at the RIPAS Hospital Mental Health Unit by Jerudong Prisons transport.
DPP Rozaimah also informed of the Mental Health Unit’s concerns in the degree of violence involved in the case, the uncertainty of the defendant’s behaviours and lack of proper facilities at the unit to properly secure the defendant. The case was set for further mention on January 7, 2015.