Durban - Merebank murder accused Donovan “Mark” Ramdass is mentally fit to stand trial, and is showing no signs of any psychiatric disorder or visual and verbal memory impairment.
This is according to the findings of a series of mental evaluation assessments done on him at Fort Napier Hospital, which was submitted in a report to the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Ramdass, 31, who faces a charge of murder and robbery, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Ashika Singh, 35, by allegedly suffocating her with a plastic bag and strangling her with an extension cord at her home in Merebank last March.
Ramdass was supposed to have made his bail application last July, after submitting an affidavit in support of the bid, but it was stalled by the State.
He indicated he wanted to use a defence of “diminished criminal liability”, in terms of which an accused may argue that, although he/she might have broken the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable as their mental functions were diminished or impaired.
The State then requested he be sent to Fort Napier Hospital for mental evaluation.
A report compiled by a Dr Raymond, principal psychiatrist at Fort Napier, reads: “The accused is not mentally ill. He is able to follow court proceedings and give an account of himself in court. There was no abnormal behaviour observed in the ward, and he answered questions appropriately when asked.”
A further assessment by a clinical psychologist, Dr Emily Elkington, revealed the following: “Ramdass falls within the average to low average range of intellectual capacity. His cognitive functions appear intact and there is no evidence of visual or verbal impairment.
“He was able to give an adequate account of his personal history, but unable to recall any details of the alleged crime. He admits to being intoxicated at the time of the alleged offence, and has a history of substantial substance abuse leading to the occurrences of sporadic amnestic episodes.
“There is sufficient evidence to suggest the presence of borderline personality traits and mild to moderate impairment in his personality functioning.”
Ramdass has admitted periods of low mood swings and attempted suicide on three occasions during late adolescence and early adulthood.
Singh was his fiancé, whom he had been involved in a relationship with for six years prior to the incident. He admitted consuming alcohol beforehand and said he experienced a “black out” and only regained conscious awareness a few days later in uMhlanga Rocks.
Singh’s mother Dolly, returning home from a casino, found her body in her bedroom with an extension cord around her neck and a plastic bag over her head. Singh’s courtesy car, on loan from a panel-beating shop, was missing, but was later found in the Point area.
The matter was adjourned to next month for the bail application to proceed.
Daily News