A mentally-unstable man was yesterday charged with fatally beating his elderly, bed-ridden father with a piece of wood.
Ali Mohamed, 53, was remanded to prison by Magistrate Fabayo Azore at Georgetown Magistrates’ Court 5, where he was not required to plead to the charge.
It is alleged that on January 13, at Providence Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD), Mohamed, of Lot 38 Providence Public Road, murdered Mohamed Suleiman.
Family members broke down into tears as they watched a shaking Mohamed face the court and listen to the submissions made without uttering a word.
Police Prosecutor Stephen Telford said the deceased was the accused’s 83-year-old father, who was bed-ridden for the past three years due to a stroke.
The court heard that on the day of the murder, Mohamed was called on by his sister to receive his medication but instead he grabbed a piece of wood and dealt her several lashes. She immediately left the house to seek refuge. Mohamed then entered the bedroom of his now dead father and dealt him several lashes about his body. The injured man was subsequently taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Mohamed was represented by attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat, who told the court that his client has been a patient at psychiatrist Dr Bhiro Harry’s clinic for the past 20 years of his life. Fung-A-Fat also requested that Mohamed be confined to the Camp Street prison’s infirmary so that Dr Harry could visit him there and prepare him for court.
Telford, who rebutted that Mohamed was a patient of Dr Harry since 2007, asked the court for an adjournment since the investigation of the murder is not yet completed and Dr Harry normally takes some time to prepare his reports.
The case was subsequently adjourned until February 27.
