18-year-old high school student, Rihaal Kumar, who allegedly caused the death of Sharuf Shaakir Khan at a Suva apartment complex in July this year will undergo a second psychiatric evaluation after his lawyer made an application for the evaluation to be done by a different doctor.
Kumar's lawyer Robert Bancod says they were having difficulty obtaining instructions from their client as he was providing conflicting instructions each time they discussed the matter.
High Court Judge Justice Daniel Goundar has granted their application for the second psychiatric evaluation as he has considered Kumar's rights to an early fair trial and has set for trial on the 16th February next year.
Bancod informed the court that there will be no delay in the trial as they only need a second opinion of a different doctor on Kumar's mental status and they can proceed from there.
Meanwhile, Bancod asked the State to review and downgrade the charge from murder to manslaughter, but the State told the court it will proceed with the existing murder charge and will not make any amendments.
The matter has been adjourned to 16th January next year for pre-trial conference.
