A JURY was empanelled in the High Court yesterday to determine whether a schizophrenic drug abuser is fit to plead on a charge of attempted rape. The Crown says that Chan Koon-chiu, 18, is able to plead, while a doctor called by the defence testified that Chan was mentally unfit to stand trial. Chan is charged with attempting to rape a 16-year-old girl in Yuen Long on July 6, 1992. The trial began last month before Mr Justice Leong but was adjourned after Chan's counsel, Robert Andrews submitted that his client was unfit to plead. Opening the Crown's case to the jury yesterday, prosecutor David MacKenzie-Ross said all doctors who had examined Chan agreed that he was suffering from schizophrenia arising principally from drug abuse. But two government psychiatrists yesterday said that Chan was fit for trial despite his schizophrenia. The hearing continues.
