KUALA LUMPUR: The Shah Alam District Court today ruled that the truck driver accused of murdering his Thai girlfriend by pushing the woman from the 23rd floor of a residential complex is competent to stand trial.

Lawyer Sivahnanthan Ragava, representing 37-year-old V. Nathan, told Bernama when contacted that Judge Mohamad Redza Azhar Rezali delivered the verdict after the prosecution submitted a report on his client’s mental health condition.

“Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Farah Sofea Norazman informed Judge Mohamad Redza Azhar Rezali that according to the psychiatric report from Bahagia Tanjung Rambutan Hospital in Perak, the accused was mentally stable during the incident. He is therefore fit to stand trial.”

“The court then set October 24 as the date for the next case hearing,” said the lawyer, who was assisted by Cyrus Tiu Foo Woei.

In April, the court ordered the accused to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after granting Sivahnanthan’s request, which stated that the accused had difficulty following instructions and cooperating in the trial on the murder charge against him.

Nathan was accused of killing 32-year-old Mawika Lumyai at a residential complex in Jalan Setia Dagang AH U13/AH, Setia Alam, at 10.02pm on February 28.

The charge is based on Section 302 of the Penal Code and carries a penalty of death if convicted or, if the death penalty is not imposed, imprisonment for up to 40 years and 12 strokes of the cane.