The lawyer of a Bahraini man who allegedly assaulted an expat co-worker and poured boiling water on her face has asked a court for her client to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The 20-year-old from Tubli, who is standing trial at the High Criminal Court, was asked by judges if he was suffering from or getting treated for any mental illness, and the defendant stayed silent.
“The defendant is not in a sound state of mind,” the lawyer told the court during yesterday’s hearing.
“He suffers from a mental illness of unknown nature and needs to undergo a full psychiatric evaluation. I’m asking the judges to refer him for a thorough assessment to determine what he suffers from.”
During last week’s hearing, when the judges asked him if he had assaulted his co-worker, he also stayed quiet and simply nodded his head, which the judges took as an admission.
He is now expected to undergo a thorough examination ahead of next month’s verdict hearing, which has been set for January 13.
According to the details of the case, the victim, a 26-year-old Ugandan barista, was on the receiving end of a vicious beating following an undisclosed dispute between them.
The accused reportedly began to assault his co-worker using his hands, allegedly hitting her in multiple parts of the body, including the face and shoulders.
It remains unclear whether anybody else was in the cafe at the time of the incident.
The situation escalated, and he went to the coffee prep station and filled a container with boiling hot water, and allegedly started to pour it on her face while holding her.
She managed to run away and leave the shop while she was in what she described as ‘severe pain’, according to her witness statement.
She saw a delivery driver and quickly approached him and begged for help, explaining that she was being assaulted.
He had little time to act, and the accused reportedly followed the victim outside to continue his assault, this time with a kettle and even attempted to strangle her.
She hurriedly crossed the street and entered a store opposite to the coffee shop and pleaded for help, and the people inside called the police.
Officers arrived within minutes, and the 20-year-old was reportedly quickly apprehended and arrested.
An investigation was launched, and the accused admitted to his role in the incident during interviews, the court heard.
A medical report confirmed that the victim suffered minor injuries to the face, shoulders and other parts of the body, including a burn on her face that caused the skin to peel.
Security footage from just outside the shop showed the victim rushing out of the coffee shop and approaching the surprised delivery man.
It also showed the accused following her shortly afterwards, hitting her with the kettle and attempting to strangle her, before the brave delivery driver stepped in and held him back while she fled across the street.
The Public Prosecution placed the accused in provisional detention and referred the case to the High Criminal Court, where the defendant is expected to learn his fate in the New Year.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))