Court orders NCWC to assess the victim’s mental health and provide support

Choki Wangmo | Tsirang

Tsirang dzongkhag court sentenced a 38-year-old man to 16 years in prison for rape, unnatural sex, endangerment of a child, and statuary rape of an eight-year-old boy in Tsirang on November 3.

The court has also ordered the convict, Nim Dorji Sherpa from Patsaling in Tsirang to pay Nu 366,918 compensation to the child within six months from the day the judgment was rendered.

Nim Dorji Sherpa raped the child in March this year when the child was returning home from school.

The child confided the incident to his grandfather.

Medical examination results presented during the trial concluded that the child is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and has been avoiding school.

The child was also suffering from sleep disturbances, along with other psychopathologies.

According to the judgment, the child will have to undergo long-term therapy in order to heal from the mental trauma caused by the incident.

The court ordered the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) to assess the child’s mental state and provide the needed support to the victim, and report to the court by January 3 next year.

Edited by Tashi Dema