The Saga Family Court has ordered that psychiatric evaluations be conducted on the 17-year-old youth accused of hijacking a bus for 15 hours last month and fatally stabbing one of the passengers, court officials said.
The tests, to be conducted over a period of three months through Sept. 15, are to determine whether the suspect was mentally competent at the time of the May 3-4 hijacking.
Based on the results, the family court will decide whether the youth should face a criminal trial or undergo rehabilitation and treatment, possibly in a juvenile reformatory.
A Hiroshima psychiatrist who earlier conducted a preliminary test on the boy said he was not able to reach a firm conclusion and called for a full-scale test to determine his mental condition.