Sumeet Ruggunan is accused of murdering his mother, Premdevi, 62, in her Clare Estate home.
|||Durban - A 23-year-old man accused of stabbing his mother to death has appeared briefly in court, which adjourned his bail hearing pending a mental assessment.
Sumeet Ruggunan is accused of murdering his mother, Premdevi, 62, in her Clare Estate home last week.
It is alleged Ruggunan had an argument with her before he repeatedly stabbed her with a kitchen knife.
When police arrived at the scene, they allegedly found Ruggunan standing over the body with a knife in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth.
Prosecutor Blackie Swart told the court on Tuesday that Ruggunan had been referred in April to Townhill Hospital, a mental health facility in Pietermaritzburg, for mental observation, but a bed would be available only in May.
Swart said that because of the seriousness of the charge, Ruggunan would have to be assessed by at least two State psychologists.
Several members of Ruggunan’s family were at the Durban Magistrate’s Court for the proceedings.
They asked, through lawyer Rajesh Hiralall, that Ruggunan be kept at the Sydenham police station.
Magistrate Vanitha Armu said accused were not kept in holding cells for longer than seven days.
Ruggunan was sent to Westville Prison pending his bail application on July 11.
Armu ordered that Ruggunan be kept at the prison hospital for his safety and that of other inmates.
rizwana.umar@inl.co.za
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