Fiji born to serve jail term in NZ mental hospital

A 19-year-old Fiji born currently residing in New Zealand who murdered his so called ‘only’ friend in Auckland last year has been sentenced to three years imprisonment on kidnapping and assault charges.

According to Stuff.co.nz, Akshay Anand Chand stabbed to death 18 year old Christine Marceau at her house in Hillcrest, Auckland on the November 7, 2011.

He was found not guilty by Justice Helen Winkelmann by the reason of insanity.

Justice Winkelmann said that the jail term would be served while Chand was in a psychiatric hospital, which he was confined to indefinitely yesterday.

Two months before Chand murdered Marceau she was kidnapped and assaulted by him. He was then arrested and sent to Mt Eden prison.

Chand was sentenced on the earlier charges because psychiatrists said at that stage he was well enough to know right from wrong.

The court heard how Chand, who knew Marceau from primary school and a supermarket job, had called her for help on September 6 (when she was kidnaaped), saying he was going to kill himself.

Chand then hid a 20cm kitchen knife in the waistband of his pants, intending to rape her.

When Marceau arrived they sat and Chand talked about his problems while holding a knife. He asked her to remove her clothes and said, “If you don't obey me, I'll knife you. If you scream, I'll knife you. If you try to escape, I'll knife you.”

After more than half an hour, Chand decided not to rape her, and allowed her to leave.

Chand’s lawyer Mary-Anne Lowe confirmed that Chand took a dose of pills after Marceau left that day that Chand believed would have been fatal.

However, they found, in separate diagnoses, that Chand did not know right from wrong at the time of the murder because he was suffering a "disease of the mind". He is now being treated for schizophrenia.

As a special patient, he will not be allowed free until the Minister of Health approves his release.

By Indrani Krishna