The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is maintaining the charge of murder for a Year 12 Suva student accused of killing a man with three knives.
Rihaal Kumar’s case was called yesterday before Justice Daniel Goundar at the High Court in Suva.
The prosecution alleges that the killing was premeditated because five days before the incident, the teenager allegedly purchased a $5 dagger, which he gave to his father to sharpen.
The dagger and two other kitchen knives were allegedly used by Kumar to stab Sharuf Shaakir Khan multiple times in the stomach, thigh and back, in an apartment complex on Waimanu Rd in Suva on July 7 this year.
The deceased’s brother-in-law discovered the body after which Kumar allegedly admitted to killing him, and police were subsequently called.
On September 6, Kumar, represented by Robert Bancod of Millbrook Hills Law, entered a not-guilty plea, where his lawyer also made representations to have the charge reduced to manslaughter.
Meanwhile, Mr Bancod has applied for his client to undergo a second psychiatric evaluation.
Until then, he remains remanded in custody with the case adjourned to January 16, 2026.
