Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman and his wife, Azlin Arujunah, are alleged to have subjected their son to various forms of abuse before his death on Oct. 23, 2016.

Now, Ridzuan and his wife, Azlin Arujunah, are standing trial for murder with common intention by scalding the boy, aged five, to death.

When interviewed by the prosecution's psychiatrist on Nov. 18, Ridzuan volunteered that he had frequently beat his wife over relatively minor disagreements.

He also admitted that he may have misdirected his anger towards her to their son instead.

Diagnosis of mental disorder

In court, on Nov. 18, Ridzuan's violent temper was at the centre of a debate involving the defence and Cheow Enquan, the prosecution's witness, and the psychiatrist who'd examined Ridzuan after he was arrested.

Cheow said that he disagreed with another psychiatrist who had diagnosed Ridzuan with the following disorders:

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Intermittent explosive disorder (IED)
• Hypnotic use disorder

Ridzuan's defence counsel had sought further psychiatric opinion after their client was found by Cheow to not be suffering from any mental disorder or intellectual disability but to be exhibiting antisocial personality traits.

The psychiatrist consulted by the defence, Ung Eng Khean, had given his clinical judgement that there was a causal link between the disorders that he had diagnosed Ridzuan with and his alleged offending behaviour.

This set the stage for a combative back-and-forth between defence lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam and Cheow — who ended up conceding that he had failed to diagnose Ridzuan with an antisocial personality disorder.

However, Cheow told the court that he disagreed with the ADHD and IED diagnosis, insisting that the diagnostic criteria for both did not seem to be fulfilled.

Violent temper

Thuraisingam responded by pointing out examples of Ridzuan's aggressive and violent behaviour which included:

• kicking a cat because it had urinated on the sofa
• beating his wife frequently, once so bad that she was sent to the hospital bleeding
• angrily beating his son with a broomstick
• Punching his son in the face, breaking his nose and teeth

Citing Ridzuan's admission that he was unable to control his violent temper, the defence lawyer asked Cheow if it was consistent with IED.

"I disagree, the facts show that it is not consistent with IED," said the psychiatrist.

Instead, Cheow posited that Ridzuan exhibited an escalating pattern of aggressive behaviour in response to what he perceived to be disobedient behaviour from his son.

Calling the punishments the accused had meted out as "calculated", Cheow cited an admission from Ridzuan that he had burnt the victim's hands with a heated metal spoon to "punish his thieving hands" and deter the boy from stealing Milo and milk powder meant for his siblings.

Misdirected his anger

He also highlighted that Ridzuan had said he recognised hitting his wife was wrong and that he had tried to refrain from doing so.

However, in the process, he admitted that he may have directed the anger at his son instead.

"The fact that he could kind of refrain from hitting his wife and redirect his anger towards his son, I don’t think that shows that he has IED at all," said Cheow.

Additionally, Cheow pointed out that Ridzuan had allegedly used physical punishment on his other children yet not to the extent which he had punished his five-year-old son, showing control over his impulses not consistent with IED.

Cheow maintained that despite his new diagnosis that Ridzuan suffered from an antisocial personality disorder, there was no causal link between the disorder and Ridzuan's alleged offending behaviour.

Antisocial personality disorder does not impair judgment, nor does it impair impulse control, he said.

Together with his wife, Ridzuan is accused of having used various methods of abuse on the boy, including:

• pinching him with pliers
• hitting him with a broom
• confining him to a cage meant for a cat
• splashing him with near-boiling water
• punching him in the face

The trial continues on Nov. 19.

If found guilty of murder with common intention, Ridzuan would be sentenced to death, or life imprisonment with caning.

His wife would face the same penalties but cannot be caned.

Top image from Facebook via Lianhe Zaobao