Remember the 61-year-old man who was charged with attempted murder after slashing another man at a Pasir Ris shopping mall last year? According to Zaobao, the man will be remanded for three more weeks to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. During the court hearing, the defence attorney and the prosecutor both presented differing views regarding visitation rights.
Shin Min Daily News reported earlier that Loh Chye Hoe was accused of carrying out an attack with a cleaver at about 4.50pm on December 20 last year at Pasir Ris West Plaza. Loh allegedly slashed Wong Tai Huong, 46, several times at Royal Regent, a store on the first floor of the mall.
Loh was arrested for voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon and is charged with attempted murder.
Currently, Loh is being remanded at Changi Medical Centre. He appeared in court via video link on Thursday (1 February) morning.
The prosecution told the court that the Institute of Mental Health had requested an additional three weeks of remand for Loh to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
In addition, Loh’s defence lawyer submitted an application regarding visitation rights on 26 January. The prosecution revealed that after his arrest on 20 December last year, Loh was charged in court the next day. During this period, the police only took two statements from Loh, who claimed to have schizophrenia.
After confirming Loh’s medical history with his family on 21 December, the police applied for a continued remand for Loh’s psychiatric evaluation. The court approved the request, and Loh has been remanded in custody to this day.
The prosecution pointed out that during this period, the police had not interviewed Loh to allow the Institute of Mental Health to complete his mental evaluation without interference.
The prosecution also mentioned that after the completion of the three-week psychiatric evaluation, the police would require an additional week for investigation before allowing Loh’s lawyer to visit. Consequently, they requested the defence lawyer to withdraw the visitation application.
In response, the lawyer expressed no objection to the further remand for psychiatric evaluation and believed that this was a fair requirement and necessary. However, the lawyer intends to maintain the visitation rights application.
The judge approved the defendant’s remand for an additional three weeks. The next court hearing, scheduled for February 22, will review the results of the psychiatric evaluation, and a hearing on the lawyer’s application will take place on February 27.
The judge allowed the defendant to be remanded in custody for an additional three weeks. After completing a mental evaluation, he will appear in court again on 22 February and set a date for processing the lawyer’s application on 27 February.
