SINGAPORE, Dec 2 — A man accused of stabbing a priest at Singapore’s St Joseph’s Church was placed on remand for an additional week for further investigations.
CNA reported that the man, Basnayake Keith Spencer, 37 was previously remanded for three weeks for psychiatric assessment.
Basnayake’s next hearing for his case will be on December 9.
He was previously charged with one count of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by a dangerous weapon, involving Father Christopher Lee Kwong Heng, on November 11.
Basnayake is accused of stabbing Father Lee in the mouth with a foldable knife on November 9 at St Joseph's Church in Upper Bukit Timah.
Father Lee, St Joseph’s parish priest, was discharged on November 15 from the hospital after receiving surgery due to the attack and was put on medical leave.
Police investigations have so far not found reason to believe the attack was religiously motivated or an act of terrorism.
Basnayake is Singaporean Sinhalese and previously declared to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority that he is Christian, according to Singapore ome Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment or up to 15 years in jail, caning and a fine.
