Mentally ill accused in court

THE fratricide case of mentally ill Toufique Dien was once again postponed when he appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

It is alleged that Toufique murdered his brother, Munier, who was also mentally ill, by stabbing him.

“I told the court that it is one family involved. I feel the pain for both my sons. I have already lost one son. Don’t let me lose another; let me take care of my son,” said their mother, Moriedah Dien.

Despite her desperate plea, her son was denied bail at the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court and held at Pollsmoor Prison for about seven months. The case was transferred to the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on October 3.

“I took his medication to them and asked them to keep him in the hospital section. He didn’t have his medication for about a week,” said Dien.

Toufique was a patient at Valkenberg Hospital, where he was treated for schizoaffective disorder (a combination of symptoms of schizophrenia and mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar disorder).

According to the Mayo Clinic, schizoaffective symptoms may include delusions, hallucinations, depressive episodes and manic periods of high energy.

Toufique has been a Valkenberg patient since he was 17 and has been on medication for the last 10 years.

Dien told the Weekend Argus she could see the fear in her son’s eyes every time he appeared in court.

This, she believed, was because of the trauma of being kept behind bars for seven months, despite his mother’s plea for bail because of his condition.

The deceased had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was the more aggressive of the brothers, said Dien.

According to court papers, Munier was diagnosed with schizophrenia with psychosis, and also “heard voices”.

“He was a month or two at home and had to be taken to Valkenberg because he would be out of hand, aggressive and rude.

“He would take it to a point where the family did not understand what was happening. The deceased was more in the hospital than the appellant and he also on average spent three months in hospital,” court papers read. “There was a time when the deceased was in the hospital for eight months.”

Toufique clearly has the backing of the community after they rallied to sign a petition to get him bail. His mother said this was because they know his character.

“My other son, who is a police officer, sold his car and cellphone to help his brother and to be able to pay for the piling up legal bills,” said Dien.

It was only on September 10 that he was released on R1 000 bail, after an appeal was lodged at the Western Cape High Court.

He is set to appear at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on November 22.