Explainer: When does a mental health condition count in court and are more people using it as a defence?
The following month, the cyclist in the same case had her sentencing adjourned as she recently was diagnosed with aIn January, a man took intimate photographs of two women asleep at his home, claiming that he had done so as he suffered from"While legislative changes — such as mandatory treatment orders in lieu of punishments — and a rising awareness of such issues in the public sphere have led to more psychiatric assessments, it is still unclear if more people are using them as a way to...
Dr Jacob Rajesh, senior consultant psychiatrist at Promises Healthcare, said that a psychiatric assessment can also be made to determine aggravating factors instead of mitigating ones — like whether a person was abusing substances or alcohol and if that contributed to the offence.Those accused of capital offences automatically require one upon arrest, said Mr Chooi, who is a partner at Eugene Thuraisingam law firm.
However, those accused of serious and violent offences such as murder and sexual assault will be remanded for psychiatric assessment in prison, said Dr Cheok. Dr Jacob said that in producing a forensic report, a psychiatrist would focus on a few key questions, namely whether a person has a mental disorder, and “more crucially”, whether it was present at the time of the offence.
“For example, a person has obsessive compulsive disorder and has fear of dirt and washes his hands. However, he chose to shoplift which has nothing to do with his OCD symptoms,” said Dr Cheok.A judge is entitled to question the basis of a psychiatrist’s opinion and conclusion and accept one side or the other, said Mr Chooi.
Criminal lawyer Che Wei Chin said that if it deems suitable, the court may also order an accused to undergo an MTO in lieu of other punishments. Mr Low of Drew and Napier and Dr Tan of The Therapy Room, for example, found the number for such requests have largely remained the same throughout their years of practice.
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