An Institute of Mental Health (IMH) report was presented in court today in the latest development concerning Koh Weng Onn, the man who assaulted three teenage madrasah students earlier this month.
The report determined that the 48-year-old suffers from a disorder with delusions of persecution and reference, TODAY reports — but he remains fit to take his plea.
Having been remanded at IMH over the past three weeks for psychiatric assessment, Koh will now be moved to jail for remand after the prosecution requested for more time to clarify with IMH the nature of his delusions.
Koh faces charges of hurting the three madrasah students near Paya Lebar MRT station on the morning of Apr 1. He was charged with three counts — two of committing a rash act by swinging a plastic bag containing a 1.5-litre bottle of water at the faces of two female victims. The third count was for kicking the other student on her right thigh, which was “racially aggravated”, according to court documents.
Koh’s elder brother — ironically a Muslim convert — had noted that the suspect had suffered from mental issues since young, and refused treatment in the ’90s.
Koh, however, had struck fortune when criminal lawyer Sunil Sudheesan represented him in court. An anonymous entrepreneur had offered to foot the bill for his legal fees.
Sudheesan agreed with the decision for his client to be remanded, so long as the accused could receive treatment during remand. A pre-trial conference for the case has been set for May 9.
