Delusional Disorder

A person with toxic happiness; society pulls down, raises again as a negative person.

SCENE 1

Judge: The accused, Mr. Sowmiya Narayanan, was charged with the murder of his wife under section 302 of the Penal Code. He committed the offense at 3 pm on September 14, 2004, at premises No. 40, Lorong Setia Puspa 1, Medan Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. Under section 302 of the Penal Code, if the accused were found guilty, he would be sentenced to death. Today, the prosecution side represented by Miss Varsitha, while from the defense counsel side represented by Miss. Tamilselvi. The trial begins.

Public prosecutor: About 2 pm on September 14, 2004, Mr. Sowmiya Narayanan was detained and charged under section 302 of the Penal Code. I would like to ask your permission to bring my first witness for this case.

Judge: Yes, you may.

Public prosecutor: Thank you, Your Honour.

Police: My name is Inspector Lee, and I swear I will give the true clarification only.

Public prosecutor: First of all, Inspector Lee is representing the main witness of this case, who is representing the maid named Haiku and Sakshi. Inspector, where was the witness during the incident?

Police: According to the witness's clarification, she was at the crime scene where the deceased was killed.

Public prosecutor: Inspector, please tell us a little bit of information about what happened before the deceased was killed.

Police: On Saturday, September 14, 2004, the deceased was watching TV while the accused was sitting at the dining table alone. After 10 minutes sitting with the family, the witness went to her bedroom.

Public prosecutor: What happened after that?

Police: Around 3 o’clock, while the witness was sleeping, she was awakened by the crying of the deceased’s daughter named Evangeline. After that, the witness rushed to the bathroom upstairs. The witness heard the accused and the deceased quarreling in the bathroom. Due to her fear, the witness ran outside the house and hid behind the car. Then the witness saw the accused run to his car and drive recklessly.

Public prosecutor: Did the witness not do anything due to the incident?

Police: No. After that, the witness entered the house and saw the children of the spouses crying. She went upstairs and saw the deceased groveling in a pool of blood. Beside the deceased's body, there was a knife stained with blood.

Public Prosecutor: Your Honour, this proves that the accused is the main suspect for this case; therefore, I have no further questions. Thank you.

Judge: Defense counsel, do you have any questions to ask?

Defense counsel: Absolutely, Your Honour. The witness said she was at the crime scene. My question is, did the witness see the incident directly with her own eyes?

Police: According to the witness, no. She did not see the whole incident directly. But the witness was very sure that the accused had killed the deceased.

Defense counsel: The witness did not see the whole incident with her own eyes. So this is actually an assumption made by the witness. My next question is, just now the witness said she ran out from the house because she was afraid. How can the witness know that the accused stabbed the deceased? There are many possibilities that may have happened when the incident occurred. Is it true that the witness left the scene because she was afraid of the quarreling sound of the spouses?

Police: According to the witness, yes. The witness left the scene for a while because she was afraid. That’s all from me, Your Honour.

SCENE 2

Judge: Public prosecutor, are you ready for cross-examination?

Public prosecutor: No, allow me to call the second witness, Dr. Srividya.

Judge: Yes, you may.

Doctor: I, Dr. Srividya, a psychiatrist at Hospital Bahagia, swear to tell the truth.

Public prosecutor: Doctor, what is your relationship with the accused?

Doctor: Straight after the incident, I was given the responsibility to examine the accused's health.

Public prosecutor: Doctor, what kind of examination has been conducted?

Doctor: I have done the mental examination against the accused, including frequent interviews, lab examinations, and behavior examinations. Besides that, I also held interviews with the deceased’s family and acquaintances.

Public prosecutor: What is your finding, doctor?

Doctor: At first, we found that the accused had normal behavior like others.

Public prosecutor: So, can I assume that the accused committed the murder without any influence or any health problem from the mental or physical aspect?

Doctor: At the first examination, the accused did not have any health problems. But after re-examination, we found that the accused has delusional disorder, jealous type. In my opinion, the accused was insane during the incident.

Public prosecutor: After re-examination, the doctor found the accused had a mental problem? Is it possible if I say that the disease that the accused has is very rare? Is it true, doctor?

Doctor: Yes. Usually, the symptoms for this type of delusion are very rare for its sufferers.

Public prosecutor: So, in my opinion, during the incident, the accused was sane and had the mensrea element to kill, but at the same time, the accused tried to avoid his offense by saying he has this disease.

Judge: Defense counsel, do you have any questions?

Defense counsel: Yes, Your Honour. Doctor, according to the examination, did the accused have any mental problems?

Doctor: Yes, it’s true. The accused has a mental problem.

Defense counsel: Doctor, can I say that this disease is rare but has the probability to happen?

Doctor: Yes, it’s true. This disease is rarely to occur but it has the possibility to happen. Based on the examination, the accused committed this murder after hearing a voice telling him that his wife cheated on him. After being pushed by that voice, he killed his wife.

Defense counsel: Your Honour, this proves the accused committed the offense while he was not in a sound mind. This can be proven by Dr. Srividya's clarification. That’s all from me. Here I submit the result of the examination as an exhibit.