Teh One Who Knocks
01-21-2014, 12:27 PM
By Shaffiq Alkhatib - Asia One
http://i.imgur.com/gwueULP.jpg
SINGAPORE- He repeatedly stabbed his mother until she was dead because he thought she was a genie.
On Wednesday, Mr Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib was acquitted of murdering religious teacher Asnah Aziz on grounds of temporary insanity.
At the time, he was heavily intoxicated with a drug known to cause psychotic effects and vivid imagination.
"Its resultant psychedelic and psychotic effects did indeed cause him not to know his actions were wrongful," said psychiatrist Kenneth Koh in a report that the prosecution presented in court.
Dr Koh had examined Mr Mohamed Redha in February 2012.
Justice Tay Yong Kwang said that due to his "unsoundness of mind" then, Mr Mohamed Redha was incapable of knowing that what he had done was against the law.
He ordered the former health-care assistant at the Institute of Mental Health to be kept in safe custody in Changi Prison "pending the orders of the Minister".
Getting an acquittal on a murder charge on grounds of temporary insanity is rare, said lawyers The New Paper spoke to.
Pieced together from what Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Wen Hsien told the court and Dr Koh's report, these are the events that led to the horrific death of Madam Asnah, 56.
At the family flat in Block 20, Eunos Crescent, three days before the Jan 26, 2012, incident, family members noticed that Mr Mohamed Redha was behaving abnormally. He was smiling and talking to himself.
Over the next two days, things got worse.
During that time, he consumed 80 Romilar tablets. A substance in these tablets, dextromethorphan, is listed under the Poisons Act and is known to cause psychedelic effects.
It is not known how he got hold of these tablets, but the effect of taking so many was devastating.
The court was told that he turned violent towards his family members.
But it was only the beginning of the hell that was to come.
On that fateful January day, he was sleeping at home when he was woken up at around 11am by noise from a lion dance troupe performing at a neighbouring block.
Mr Mohamed Redha wanted to go out as he felt that "the dragon (could) save (him), because (his) soul was going out".
He wanted to leave his flat, but went back to bed when Madam Asnah stopped him.
As he lay in bed, he heard voices telling him that she was not his mother and he should slap her three times. If she showed fear, she was not his mother.
Slapped mum
He went to the living room of their three-room flat and slapped her. The voices then told him that she was really afraid.
He also perceived that her face had changed and he felt that she was not his mother but a genie.
Hearing another voice telling him to kill Madam Asnah, he went to the kitchen, got two knives and stabbed her repeatedly with them.
Her autopsy report revealed that she suffered 90 external injuries in all.
They include wounds to her chest, face and abdomen.
He also cut his hands while stabbing her.
After she collapsed to the floor, he searched the flat for the keys. When he could not find them, he used a hammer, but he failed to break a padlock on the metal gate.
His elder sister, a part-time madrasah teacher, 32, was outside the flat at the time when she saw the gate shaking violently.
Feeling afraid, she phoned her husband and asked him to come over immediately.
In the meantime, Mr Mohamed Redha found the keys in his mother's handbag, but could not use them to unlock the padlock as it had been damaged.
He then climbed out of the kitchen window of his 12th-storey flat and slipped into the unit next door.
He found the keys to the gate of his neighbour's flat and let himself out.
Ladder
After that, he climbed up a ladder to the roof of the block as he heard voices telling him to do so.
While there, he damaged the switches to both sets of lifts and returned to his neighbour's flat, where he helped himself to $374 that he found hanging in a plastic bag on a bedroom door.
He left the unit and made his way to an open carpark in front of Eunos MRT station where he got into an unlocked car. He found the keys under the driver's seat and drove to Strathmore Avenue, off Commonwealth Avenue.
His brother-in-law reached Madam Asnah's flat at around 2pm.
He saw her lying in the kitchen in a pool of blood when he pushed open the wooden door which was unlocked. He immediately informed the authorities.
Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived some 20 minutes later, cut the padlock and pronounced Madam Asnah dead just after 2.30pm.
In Strathmore Avenue, a cabby spotted the injured Mr Mohamed Redha and called for an ambulance.
SCDF officers arrived at the scene and saw him walking out of the nearby Dawson Place shopping centre. He had gone to a shop to buy a penknife to kill himself after a voice told him that all his family members were dead.
When questioned, he told an SCDF officer that he had killed his mother.
Police officers turned up soon afterwards and escorted him to Alexandra Hospital. He was arrested there at 5.20pm, the court heard.
WHAT LED TO ATTACK
1. On Jan 24 and 25, 2012, former health-care assistant at the Institute of Mental Health, Mr Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib, 32, consumes 80 Romilar tablets.
2. He hears a lion dance troupe performing at a neighbouring block on Jan 26 and wants to leave his flat. His mother, religious teacher Asnah Aziz, 56, stops him.
3. He goes back to bed and hears voices telling him that Madam Asnah is not his mother. The voices tell him to slap her three times and if she shows fear, she is not his mother.
4. He goes to the living room and slaps her. The voices tell him she is afraid. He feels she is not his mother but a genie.
5. Another voice tells him to kill her. He goes to the kitchen, gets two knives and stabs her repeatedly. She suffers 90 external injuries in all.
Pills were his 'way to meet God'
He has a history of drug-induced psychoses and was referred to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in 2003 for treatment.
According to a medical report by psychiatrist Dr Munidasa Winslow and psychologist Dr Julia Lam, former IMH health-care assistant Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib, 32, said that he stopped using drugs after he completed his National Service that year.
But he relapsed in 2011 and started consuming Romilar pills which contain dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant found in some over-the-counter medicines. Abuse of dextromethorphan can induce psychedelic effects.
When warned of the possibility of an overdose, he told his Filipino wife, nurse Alma Pendon Sorongan, 37, that Romilar was his "way to meet God".
His mother, Madam Asnah Aziz, 56, encouraged his Romilar use as "he could meet and talk to God", said the report.
Speaking to reporters, Madam Sorongan said that Mr Mohamed Redha had told her that he needed to take the drug to go to "another world".
But she did not know why he needed to go there.
She said that she had suggested to Madam Asnah that Mr Mohamed Redha needed to see a doctor.
But the older woman insisted that he did not need medical help.
When asked how she felt about the acquittal, Madam Sorongan broke down and said that she is thankful for the outcome.
"It had been very tough but my sister-in-law and (Mr Mohamed Redha's) best friend were always there to support me," said Madam Sorongan, who has been married to him for nine years.
Acquittal 'rare', say lawyers
Acquittal of murder on grounds of temporary insanity is rare, lawyers The New Paper spoke to here say.
Yesterday, former Institute of Medical Health (IMH) health-care assistant Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib, 32, was acquitted on these grounds of murdering his mother.
One of his lawyers, Mr R.S Bajwa, said the matter will be referred to the Home Affairs Minister, who will then issue an order for Mr Mohamed Redha to be detained at the IMH at the President's pleasure.
Another lawyer, Mr Louis Joseph from Regent Law, said that he had never heard of such an acquittal in his 25 years of practice.
Review
He said: "The case will be reviewed periodically to ascertain whether he is fit to be released. Theoretically, he can be detained for any length of time, from a few years to a lifetime.
"But for this case, as he had killed somebody, I think he could be detained for quite a substantial period of time. Maybe about 20 years or so."
Also describing the acquittal as "rare", lawyer Gloria James-Civetta said that she had never heard of such an outcome in her 19 years of practice.
The closest that she could think of was a case she handled about 10 years ago, about a man who was accused of molest.
He was detained at the IMH for a psychiatric evaluation. While there, he molested another woman.
"However, charges were later dropped due to his psychiatric condition," said Ms James-Civetta.
http://i.imgur.com/gwueULP.jpg
SINGAPORE- He repeatedly stabbed his mother until she was dead because he thought she was a genie.
On Wednesday, Mr Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib was acquitted of murdering religious teacher Asnah Aziz on grounds of temporary insanity.
At the time, he was heavily intoxicated with a drug known to cause psychotic effects and vivid imagination.
"Its resultant psychedelic and psychotic effects did indeed cause him not to know his actions were wrongful," said psychiatrist Kenneth Koh in a report that the prosecution presented in court.
Dr Koh had examined Mr Mohamed Redha in February 2012.
Justice Tay Yong Kwang said that due to his "unsoundness of mind" then, Mr Mohamed Redha was incapable of knowing that what he had done was against the law.
He ordered the former health-care assistant at the Institute of Mental Health to be kept in safe custody in Changi Prison "pending the orders of the Minister".
Getting an acquittal on a murder charge on grounds of temporary insanity is rare, said lawyers The New Paper spoke to.
Pieced together from what Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Wen Hsien told the court and Dr Koh's report, these are the events that led to the horrific death of Madam Asnah, 56.
At the family flat in Block 20, Eunos Crescent, three days before the Jan 26, 2012, incident, family members noticed that Mr Mohamed Redha was behaving abnormally. He was smiling and talking to himself.
Over the next two days, things got worse.
During that time, he consumed 80 Romilar tablets. A substance in these tablets, dextromethorphan, is listed under the Poisons Act and is known to cause psychedelic effects.
It is not known how he got hold of these tablets, but the effect of taking so many was devastating.
The court was told that he turned violent towards his family members.
But it was only the beginning of the hell that was to come.
On that fateful January day, he was sleeping at home when he was woken up at around 11am by noise from a lion dance troupe performing at a neighbouring block.
Mr Mohamed Redha wanted to go out as he felt that "the dragon (could) save (him), because (his) soul was going out".
He wanted to leave his flat, but went back to bed when Madam Asnah stopped him.
As he lay in bed, he heard voices telling him that she was not his mother and he should slap her three times. If she showed fear, she was not his mother.
Slapped mum
He went to the living room of their three-room flat and slapped her. The voices then told him that she was really afraid.
He also perceived that her face had changed and he felt that she was not his mother but a genie.
Hearing another voice telling him to kill Madam Asnah, he went to the kitchen, got two knives and stabbed her repeatedly with them.
Her autopsy report revealed that she suffered 90 external injuries in all.
They include wounds to her chest, face and abdomen.
He also cut his hands while stabbing her.
After she collapsed to the floor, he searched the flat for the keys. When he could not find them, he used a hammer, but he failed to break a padlock on the metal gate.
His elder sister, a part-time madrasah teacher, 32, was outside the flat at the time when she saw the gate shaking violently.
Feeling afraid, she phoned her husband and asked him to come over immediately.
In the meantime, Mr Mohamed Redha found the keys in his mother's handbag, but could not use them to unlock the padlock as it had been damaged.
He then climbed out of the kitchen window of his 12th-storey flat and slipped into the unit next door.
He found the keys to the gate of his neighbour's flat and let himself out.
Ladder
After that, he climbed up a ladder to the roof of the block as he heard voices telling him to do so.
While there, he damaged the switches to both sets of lifts and returned to his neighbour's flat, where he helped himself to $374 that he found hanging in a plastic bag on a bedroom door.
He left the unit and made his way to an open carpark in front of Eunos MRT station where he got into an unlocked car. He found the keys under the driver's seat and drove to Strathmore Avenue, off Commonwealth Avenue.
His brother-in-law reached Madam Asnah's flat at around 2pm.
He saw her lying in the kitchen in a pool of blood when he pushed open the wooden door which was unlocked. He immediately informed the authorities.
Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived some 20 minutes later, cut the padlock and pronounced Madam Asnah dead just after 2.30pm.
In Strathmore Avenue, a cabby spotted the injured Mr Mohamed Redha and called for an ambulance.
SCDF officers arrived at the scene and saw him walking out of the nearby Dawson Place shopping centre. He had gone to a shop to buy a penknife to kill himself after a voice told him that all his family members were dead.
When questioned, he told an SCDF officer that he had killed his mother.
Police officers turned up soon afterwards and escorted him to Alexandra Hospital. He was arrested there at 5.20pm, the court heard.
WHAT LED TO ATTACK
1. On Jan 24 and 25, 2012, former health-care assistant at the Institute of Mental Health, Mr Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib, 32, consumes 80 Romilar tablets.
2. He hears a lion dance troupe performing at a neighbouring block on Jan 26 and wants to leave his flat. His mother, religious teacher Asnah Aziz, 56, stops him.
3. He goes back to bed and hears voices telling him that Madam Asnah is not his mother. The voices tell him to slap her three times and if she shows fear, she is not his mother.
4. He goes to the living room and slaps her. The voices tell him she is afraid. He feels she is not his mother but a genie.
5. Another voice tells him to kill her. He goes to the kitchen, gets two knives and stabs her repeatedly. She suffers 90 external injuries in all.
Pills were his 'way to meet God'
He has a history of drug-induced psychoses and was referred to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in 2003 for treatment.
According to a medical report by psychiatrist Dr Munidasa Winslow and psychologist Dr Julia Lam, former IMH health-care assistant Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib, 32, said that he stopped using drugs after he completed his National Service that year.
But he relapsed in 2011 and started consuming Romilar pills which contain dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant found in some over-the-counter medicines. Abuse of dextromethorphan can induce psychedelic effects.
When warned of the possibility of an overdose, he told his Filipino wife, nurse Alma Pendon Sorongan, 37, that Romilar was his "way to meet God".
His mother, Madam Asnah Aziz, 56, encouraged his Romilar use as "he could meet and talk to God", said the report.
Speaking to reporters, Madam Sorongan said that Mr Mohamed Redha had told her that he needed to take the drug to go to "another world".
But she did not know why he needed to go there.
She said that she had suggested to Madam Asnah that Mr Mohamed Redha needed to see a doctor.
But the older woman insisted that he did not need medical help.
When asked how she felt about the acquittal, Madam Sorongan broke down and said that she is thankful for the outcome.
"It had been very tough but my sister-in-law and (Mr Mohamed Redha's) best friend were always there to support me," said Madam Sorongan, who has been married to him for nine years.
Acquittal 'rare', say lawyers
Acquittal of murder on grounds of temporary insanity is rare, lawyers The New Paper spoke to here say.
Yesterday, former Institute of Medical Health (IMH) health-care assistant Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib, 32, was acquitted on these grounds of murdering his mother.
One of his lawyers, Mr R.S Bajwa, said the matter will be referred to the Home Affairs Minister, who will then issue an order for Mr Mohamed Redha to be detained at the IMH at the President's pleasure.
Another lawyer, Mr Louis Joseph from Regent Law, said that he had never heard of such an acquittal in his 25 years of practice.
Review
He said: "The case will be reviewed periodically to ascertain whether he is fit to be released. Theoretically, he can be detained for any length of time, from a few years to a lifetime.
"But for this case, as he had killed somebody, I think he could be detained for quite a substantial period of time. Maybe about 20 years or so."
Also describing the acquittal as "rare", lawyer Gloria James-Civetta said that she had never heard of such an outcome in her 19 years of practice.
The closest that she could think of was a case she handled about 10 years ago, about a man who was accused of molest.
He was detained at the IMH for a psychiatric evaluation. While there, he molested another woman.
"However, charges were later dropped due to his psychiatric condition," said Ms James-Civetta.