The Thimphu District Court has sentenced 29-year-old Lekden D. Dorji to life imprisonment for the murder of a 25-year-old woman. The incident happened in March last year. According to the judgment passed yesterday, the court ruled that the convict was mentally competent and fully aware of his actions at the time of the crime. It also rejected earlier claims that he was mentally and medically unsound.
The court found that in the early hours of March 31st last year, the convict persuaded the intoxicated victim near the 8 Eleven Shop in Thimphu to accompany him in a taxi to the Changangkha area. There, he brutally assaulted and attempted to rape her, causing her death from multiple injuries and strangulation.
Her body was later found hidden under cardboard boxes near the Nano Office building.
The court dismissed his defence of mental incompetence, stating that although he had borderline intelligence and autism-related limitations, he was mentally sound and fully aware of his actions.
Eyewitnesses, including the taxi driver and the convict’s cousin, testified that the victim resisted and begged to go home when the convict attempted to take her to his home. CCTV footage showed the convict dragging, kicking and assaulting the victim.
The post-mortem report from the national referral hospital confirmed severe injuries, signs of strangulation, and traces of the victim’s blood near his residence, suggesting an attempted sexual assault.
The court concluded that the murder occurred during an attempted rape, classifying it as a felony murder under Section 138 of the Penal Code.
Tashi Dekar
Edited by Sonam Pem
