A local man, who was declared fit to stand trial, has pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting a man and was yesterday ordered to pay a BND$2,000 fine or two months' imprisonment in default.

The thirty-nine-year-old defendant, Salman Arshad was brought by his family and admitted voluntarily to the Mental Health Unit of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital on April 3.

He punched a thirty-two-year-old male nurse at the Mental Health Unit at 9.15am on April 5, 2016. It all started when he entered the nurses' station and started opening drawers without permission to look for cigarettes. He left when he could not find any.

The nurses saw the defendant in an agitated state and informed the victim. The victim entered the nurses' station and picked up the phone to call a doctor.

By this time, the defendant went back to the nurses' station and told the victim to put the phone down. The victim tried to calm down the defendant. As he was about to put the phone down, he was punched on the left side of his face by the defendant. Several other medical personnel came to bring the situation under control.

A police report was lodged, leading to the defendant's arrest.

The defendant was brought to the Bandar Magistrate's Court on April 7 and ordered to undergo psychological evaluation in which a report issued by the Mental Health Unit stated that they have not found any psychotic symptoms and the defendant was fit to stand trial.

The defendant holds previous conviction related to theft and drugs.

DPP Vuina Song appeared for the Public Prosecutor, and Magistrate Pengiran Shahyzul bin Pengiran Abdul Rahman heard the case.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

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