Shahrezal Shuhaimi was charged with killing Yeen Baai by striking the victim on the head with a wooden handle at Jalan Abi Tok Hashim, Kangar, on Dec 7, 2021.

Justice Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari ruled that Shahrezal, now 39, had proven his defence of legal insanity under Section 84 of the Penal Code.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony from Hospital Ulu Kinta, Perak, who testified for the defence, said Shahrezal had suffered from a moderate intellectual disability since childhood.

He told the court that individuals with such conditions faced limitations in reasoning, problem-solving, planning and learning, and that Shahrezal would require long-term behavioural therapy as there was no medical cure.

In his judgment, Arik said the prosecution failed to challenge the psychiatrist’s findings on Shahrezal’s state of mind.

“If the accused person was sane (after committing the offence), he or she would ‘clean up’ (dispose of evidence from) the scene,” he said, adding Shahrezal did not leave the deceased’s home.