THE 52-year-old Filipina who was shot by police after she stabbed and hurt three people in the Belgian capital of Brussels Monday, August 22, is comatose, a foreign affairs official said.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said Thursday, August 25, that they cannot yet give any information on how the incident occurred and what drove the Filipina to stab three people.
“As a matter of policy, hindi kami pwedeng magbigay ng information pati pangalan (we cannot release any information or her name),” Jose told reporters covering the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in a chance interview.
Sketchy reports show that the suspect was shot and injured by responding authorities after she stabbed her third victim while inside a restaurant in a shopping mall in downtown Brussels.
She earlier stabbed two other people on a bus. All her victims survived the attacks.
The senior DFA official confirmed that the suspect is a Filipina but cannot say whether she is an overseas worker, a tourist or a permanent resident.
According to Jose, her condition is stable even though she is in comatose, and once she fully recovers, she will undergo a series of psychological tests to determine if she was mentally fit or not when she committed the crime.
“She will be undergoing exams to determine her mental health,” Jose said.
He said if proven that she was insane during the commission of the crime, she can escape criminal charges.
“Depende sa magiging resulta ng psychiatric test kung sasampahan siya ng kaso, at kung sasampahan ito ng kaso, handa tayong bigyan siya ng assistance. Pero kung sa resulta ng psychiatric test ay nakitang hindi mentally stable, ay baka hindi na siya papanagutin sa kaso (Depending on the result of the psychiatric test, she could be charged in court. In that case, we are ready to provide her legal assistance. But if the psychiatric test finds her to be mentally unstable, then she may no longer be made to answer for her action),” he said.
He said they are just waiting for the examination result and that will be their cue to give her free legal assistance. (PNA)