A teen charged for the attempted murder of his six-year-old niece is expected will be under observation at Town Hill Hospital.
|||Durban - A teen arrested and charged with the attempted murder of his six-year-old niece is expected to spend the next 30 days under observation at Town Hill Hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
This was the recommendation of a district surgeon in a report handed to the uMbumbulu Magistrate’s court on Monday..
The 18-year-old is alleged to have followed the little girl from their home in Kwambovu when she was leaving for school.
He is alleged to have stabbed the girl with a spear. She ran into a nearby sugar cane field where he stabbed her repeatedly before leaving her for dead.
The teen’s mother had informed the court previously that he had been mentally unstable and she wanted him to return home with her, but she was told he could not be released until it had been decided that people around him would be safe.
Yesterday, magistrate Garth Davies said a preliminary mental report compiled by a district surgeon showed the teen had been using drugs. “It also says in this report that you use drugs, like whoonga, heroin and dagga,” he told the teenager.
The teen, through the court’s interpreter, said the doctor had asked him if he had ever used drugs. “And I told him I did use those drugs, but a long time ago.”
Davies explained the observation would help the director of public prosecutions decide whether to deal with the matter directly or to refer the accused to Town Hill for further mental health assistance.
Other media reports said the little girl had twice been raped by her uncle, but his family denied this to the Daily News, saying the teen had never raped his niece.
State prosecutor Themba Ngcenge told the court he had requested the girl undergo a medical examination to check if she had been sexually abused. The matter was adjourned to June 26.
Daily News