Charged in 2015 with fatally beating his elderly, bedridden father with a piece of wood, Ali Mohamed was yesterday sent to the National Psychiatric Hospital at Berbice until he is deemed fit to stand trial.
It is alleged that on January 13, 2015, at Provi-dence Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD), Mohamed, of Lot 38 Providence Public Road, EBD, murdered Mohamed Suleiman.
During the brief court session before Magistrate Fabayo Azore, it was stated that the mental fitness of the defendant was a matter of contention since the matter was first heard.
The defendant, who was previously represented by attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat, was a patient at Dr Bhiro Harry’s psychiatry clinic for a little over 20 years. The court had requested a mental evaluation of the defendant to determine if he was fit to stand trial, but had not been provided with such a document.
It was on this basis that the magistrate was forced to send Mohamed to the psychiatric hospital, where he will remain until he is fit to stand trial.
On the day of Suleiman’s 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.
