By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, July 11: A 68-year-old man with a documented mental condition has been ordered by the Magistrates’ Court to undergo a month-long psychiatric evaluation following two separate incidents involving damage to passing vehicles.
Magistrate Mason Jaro Lenya Barayan issued the order after granting a request by investigating officer ASP Arman Ibrahim, who informed the court that the accused, Bujang Sanusi, holds a government-issued disability card indicating a mental health condition.
The court directed that the accused be sent to Sentosa Hospital for assessment and scheduled the case to be mentioned again on August 11.
No plea was recorded during today’s proceedings.
The accused only nodded in understanding when two charges were read to him, both filed under Section 427 of the Penal Code for committing mischief. The section carries a penalty of between one and five years in prison, a fine, or both.
The first charge relates to an incident on June 2, around 2.20am, where the accused allegedly threw a stone at a car parked outside a factory along Jalan Batu Kawa, shattering the front passenger window. The damage was estimated at RM250.
In the second incident, which took place on July 5 around 7.25pm near Kampung Sinar Budi Lama, the accused is said to have caused RM900 worth of damage to the rear passenger window of a van belonging to a 40-year-old woman.
Police arrested the man on July 7 after receiving public complaints about an individual hurling stones at vehicles and nearby buildings. Several stones believed to have been used in the incidents were confiscated as evidence.
Legal counsel did not represent the accused. — DayakDaily
