A 31-year-old mentally ill man has been sentenced to 36 months’ jail on Friday (Oct 16) for assaulting his elderly mother. Rajesh Pannu was spared caning due to his diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia.
Rajesh slapped and punched his mother, 62, on her face and body repeatedly in November last year, and used a broom stick to beat her until it broke.
He was upset that his mother’s walking frame was making noises as she walked into the living room, where Rajesh was watching television.
He grabbed the walking frame and threw it away from his mother before attacking her.
To prevent his mother from calling for help, he threw her handphone onto the floor and unplugged the telephone in their Tampines Street 82 flat.
In pain and bleeding from the nose, Mdm Narindar Kaur Darshan Singh tried to make her way to the bedroom without the aid of her walking frame to rest. Rajesh became angrier when he realised his mother could walk without the frame.
He followed her into the bedroom and hit her on the forehead multiple times with a plastic mug, undeterred by his mother’s screams of pain.
I WANT TO KILL YOU: ACCUSED TO MOTHER
Rajesh returned to the bedroom with a knife and slashed his mother on her arm, shouting “I want to kill you!”
He also poured two pots of boiling water over his mother, before telling her to “go to the toilet and wash up”.
Rajesh then went to his room and fell asleep. He found his mother bleeding and collapsed on the bathroom floor when he awoke, and called an ambulance.
Mdm Narindar was taken to Singapore General Hospital with several injuries, including deep burns over 26.5 per cent of her body. She also suffered a fracture on her left hand, and “acute left subdural haemorrhage”, or traumatic brain injury.
She remained in hospital for 33 days, and also underwent an operation to treat her burns.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Selene Yap said Rajesh had “demonstrated specific intent and planning” in the “brutal and sustained … Attack which involved the use of various implements” including a broom stick and a knife.
NO CANING SOUGHT FOR ACCUSED DUE TO MENTAL ILLNESS: DPP
However, DPP Yap said the prosecution would no longer be seeking caning due to Rajesh’s diagnosis, even though his mental illness “did not have a causal link to his offending”.
Rajesh’s lawyer Mr Sunil Sudheesan, who represented him pro bono, as part of the Guidance for Plea Scheme, asked the court to ensure Rajesh receives psychiatric treatment while in prison, and for a “proper structure” to be put in place upon his release to manage his condition.
Mr Sunil told reporters that Rajesh was first been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2002, and had been admitted to the Institute of Mental Health more than 10 times since his diagnosis. There needs to be long-term solutions for accused persons suffering from mental illness, Mr Sunil said.
District Judge Mathew Joseph echoed this point, and said that inter-agency cooperation would be required to treat and manage mentally ill persons during their incarceration and upon their release back into the community.
A collaborative effort between agencies such as the Singapore Police Force, the Ministry of Social and Family Development and social service centres to manage mentally ill offenders could help to mitigate and reduce their risks of re-offending in the future, Judge Mathew said.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
