Accused in attempted murder scheduled for appearance

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on December 14, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 59-year-old Lethbridge man accused of trying to kill a woman during a domestic dispute in September is scheduled to return to court today to address the pending completion of a recently ordered psychiatric assessment.

The matter for Kien Thanh Lam was in Lethbridge provincial court Tuesday, where defence said the accused was also scheduled for a bail hearing. The matter was adjourned for one day, however, to ensure a Cantonese interpreter could attend the hearing and to speak to the assessment.

Crown Prosecutor James Rouleau explained the court is still waiting to receive a response from the Southern Alberta Psychiatric Centre in Calgary in relation to the 30-day assessment, which was ordered Oct. 17 and had to be extended in November for another 30 days.

“I believe it is an adjournment for that process, at this point, to continue,” Rouleau said. “I don’t believe we have a fulsome response with respect to the assessment.”

The assessment was granted under Section 672 of the Criminal Code, which states a court may order an assessment of the mental condition of the accused, if it has reasonable grounds to believe it’s necessary to determine whether the accused is unfit to stand trial, and whether the accused was, at the time of the commission of the alleged offence, suffering from a mental disorder so as to be exempt from criminal responsibility.

Lam, who is in custody at the Calgary Remand Centre and was not required to attend court Tuesday, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault by choking, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Lethbridge Police responded to a domestic assault at about 12:30 a.m. Sept. 23 at a home in the Fairmont subdivision. They found a 59-year old man and 59-year-old woman suffering from stab wounds, and they were transported to hospital by EMS. Although the man was later discharged, the woman remained in hospital in stable condition.

Police determined the man assaulted the woman and caused his own injuries.

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