Staff Reporter.
Protea Magistrate’s Court in Soweto has ruled that Flavio Hlabangwane be granted time to complete his mental observation.
Hlabangwane appeared in court on Friday.
The 26-year-old was charged with murder after body parts allegedly belonging to a cousin he seemingly was in a relationship with, were found in his fridge on 13 November in Soweto.
The gruesome discovery was made by his girlfriend in a backroom he was renting and He was arrested in November last year.
In November 2021, his lawyer filed an application in the Protea Glen Magistrate’s Court to have an inquiry into his mental state, following a second suicide attempt.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane says the application comes after Hlabangwane attempted to take his own life on two separate occasions.
“The report will assist the court as it is expected to include either a unanimous finding of the mental condition of the accused. A finding as to the extent to which the capacity of the accused to appreciate the wrongfulness of the act was, at the time of the commission of the alleged offence or, in the case where the finding is not unanimous, each specialist shall give their findings on his mental condition,” said Mjonondwane.
The case has been postponed to 18 March.