THE High Court in Suva has found a 21-year-old Kadavu man unfit to stand trial for attempted murder due to chronic schizophrenia and ordered his immediate committal to St Giles Hospital for treatment.
Inoke Bota appeared before Justice Daniel Goundar on Tuesday following a mental fitness inquiry conducted under Section 104 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009.
Bota was charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking his paternal cousin across the face with a cane knife on August 25, 2025, at Mokoisa Village on Kadavu.
Expert psychiatric evidence presented by Dr Sheetal Swastika Singh, acting medical superintendent of the St Giles Hospital, confirmed that Bota suffers from chronic schizophrenia and exhibits persistent psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations and disorganised behaviour.
The court ordered that he remain at the facility until medical authorities determine he can be safely released with a structured community treatment plan.
