A man who attacked his mental health care practitioner with two bread smear knives was sentenced on Tuesday to six months in prison and TBS with compulsory treatment. The court thinks the chance of recurrence is high. The suspect would be a danger to himself and for society.
The ruling follows after a fierce incident in February 2024. The man was then in a forensic psychiatric clinic in Bergen op Zoom for treatment. In the waiting room of the clinic, he got angry and grabbed two bread smear knives, one in each hand. With that he tackled his practitioner.
Chance of recurrence
He made powerful stab movements several times towards the body of the practitioner. Only because the victim ran away and a chair between him and the suspect was not really stabbed. The blades caused holes and cracks in the upholstery of the chair.
In the end, other residents of the clinic came to the rescue of the victim. They could overpower the man. The incident also made a deep impression on his colleagues and the other, often vulnerable, residents who have seen everything happen.
Not the first time
It was not the first time that the man was convicted of violent crimes. That is why the court finds the chance that he will go wrong again very high. “He is psychotic, but does not realize that himself, so he avoids help and often stops taking his medicines,” the court said.
That is why, in addition to the prison sentence, he also receives TBS with compulsory treatment. That means that after serving the prison sentence, he will be treated for a long time and intensively in a secure clinic, for his own safety and that of others.