Engineer charged with

girlfriend’s murder suffering

from depression, psychiatrist
tells court
Published 3 years ago on 23 May 2016

GEORGE TOWN, May 23 — A psychiatrist told the High Court here today that the
engineer, Cheong Teik Keon, 34, who is charged with having murdered his
girlfriend on Valentine’s Day three years ago, is suffering from depression.

Datuk Suaran Singh Jasmit Singh, 63, from Bahagia Hospital in Tanjung
Rambutan, said based on his assessment on Cheong, the man was found to be
suffering from Major Depressive Disorder.

“I’m also in the opinion that at the time of the incident, the accused was in a
state of temporary insanity and that he is qualified to enter his defence in court,”
he testified as defence witness in Cheong’s murder trial here today.

“At the said time, the accused had impaired judgement and as a result of which,
he was incapable of telling right from wrong in the sense that he did not know
that his subsequent actions of killing the deceased was wrong or contrary to
law,” he said.

On May 6, the High Court ordered the engineer to enter his defence after finding
that the prosecution had made out a prima facie case against him.

Cheong was charged with having murdered Tan Ching Chin, 24, at Taman Hwa
Seng, Jalan Roshan, Alma here at 8.40 am on Feb 14, 2013.

The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries a mandatory death
penalty upon conviction.

Meanwhile, during cross examination, the psychiatrist disagreed with the deputy
public prosecutor Lim Cheah Yit’s suggestion that three factors that could have
led to Cheong’s depression were being in prison, losing his loved one and facing
a serious charge.
The witness also admitted that he began to make mental evaluation of the
accused on Aug 9, 2014, about a year and six months after the murder.

The court set June 1 to hear submissions on the case.

Cheong was represented by lawyers Ram Karpal Singh and Mohamad Arif
Shaharuddin. — Bernama
IN MALAYSIA