Pending the review of medical reports to determine how to proceed with criminal charges, a case involving a woman accused of second-degree attempted murder was continued yesterday to next month. O‘ahu resident Yu Mei Liu, 41, is charged with second-degree
Pending the review of medical reports to determine how to proceed with criminal charges, a case involving a woman accused of second-degree attempted murder was continued yesterday to next month.
O‘ahu resident Yu Mei Liu, 41, is charged with second-degree attempted murder for allegedly stabbing a 33-year-old woman on Jan. 10 in front of the Tokyo Lobby restaurant at the Harbor Mall in Lihu‘e.
The case was slated for a hearing in Judge Kathleen Watanabe’s courtroom yesterday.
On March 20, Liu’s attorney, Michael Soong, filed a motion for examination of defendant and a notice of intent to rely on a defense of mental disease, disorder or defect excluding penal responsibility.
Liu, who does not speak English and whose native language is Mandarin, is accused of intentionally engaging in conduct which is a substantial step in a course of conduct intended or known to cause the death of Ping Zhou, thereby committing the offense of second-degree attempted murder, punishable by as much as life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On May 8, Soong was granted the motion for medical examinations and psychological evaluations of the defendant.
The reports are to include any records that are not included in the materials collected by the adult probation division, as well as a diagnosis of Liu’s condition regarding any physical or mental disease, disorder or defect. They also are to include several professional opinions as to whether Liu has the ability to appreciate any alleged wrongdoing of conduct which might disable her from being able to comply with the law.
The examiners were given a deadline of July 17 to complete their review of Liu, in keeping with the timeline for her next scheduled court appearance at 8:30 a.m. July 24 in Judge Randal Valenciano’s courtroom.
