JOHOR BARU: The defence lawyer for a teenage girl, who is facing the death penalty for allegedly murdering her boyfriend, is seeking an order from the High Court here for her client to be submitted to a full psychiatric evaluation to determine whether she is mentally competent to stand trial.
The accused, Sim Hui Ying, 19, was charged with allegedly murdering Yap Kelly, 29, at a hotel in Taman Mount Austin at about 8pm on Sept 20, 2022.
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It is understood that the accused acted so to defend herself from being allegedly raped by the victim.
The offence was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which had previously carried a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Lawyers Farhan Read and Dennis Chong, representing Sim, said their client's mental capacity would have to be evaluated to see if she was fit to stand trial.
“She was charged with murdering her boyfriend in a hotel room last year. He had died due to stab wounds to his chest.
“The examination applied for is to ascertain whether she is mentally fit to stand trial and if she was of sound mind during the incident.
“The basis of our application is that before the murder, one of her teachers indicated to her parents that she (Sim) had exhibited certain aberrant behaviour that warranted further attention from a medical professional.
“The law can only punish wrongful acts if there is a confluence with wrongful intent. If one is of unsound mind, therefore, the requisite intent for a finding of guilt could not legally be formed,” he said when met outside the court on Wednesday (Dec 20).
Farhan added that the parents could not send the accused for a psychiatric observation as the movement control order was still enforced at the time.
“We hope to find out the diagnosis once she is referred to the government doctor,” he said, adding that deputy public prosecutor Siti Norliza Abdullah had no objection to the matter.
High Court Deputy Registrar Juliana Jaffar then allowed the application to be submitted on Jan 14, 2024.
On Sept 29, 2022, it was reported that a teenager was facing the death penalty for allegedly murdering her boyfriend in a hotel in Johor Baru.
