Honeymoon murder accused sent to mental home
A newlywed accused of organising the murder of his wife on honeymoon was transferred to a secure mental health hospital yesterday on the orders of a judge.
Shrien Dewani suffered an "adverse reaction" to his medication which left him in a distressed state while being treated at the Priory Hospital .
Spokesman Max Clifford said: “He’s not been very happy. There have been some dramas.”
There were reports that Mr Dewani was arrested following a disturbance but neither his lawyer nor Mr Clifford were able to confirm this.
Mr Dewani is wanted by the South African authorities on suspicion of killing his wife Anni and was on bail at the Priory Hospital pending his extradition hearing.
A Bristol district judge ruled that he should be moved to Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke in Somerset following a bad reaction to anti-depressants at the weekend.
The Cygnet Hospital is described as offering "a tranquil and therapeutic environment...for those individuals with complex mental illness".
The majority of its beds are in a low secure setting but on site is also an intensive community rehabilitation service for men.
Mr Dewani, 31, from Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol, is said to be suffering from severe post-traumatic stress syndrome after the shooting of his wife in Cape Town last November.
Mr Dewani was admitted to The Priory Hospital in Bristol last month after taking an overdose of pills in February.
Mrs Dewani, from Sweden, was shot when a cab the couple were travelling in was hijacked in the Gugulethu township.
She was found dead in the abandoned taxi with a bullet wound to her neck.
In a plea bargain their driver Zola Tongo claimed Dewani offered him 15,000 rand (€1,600) to arrange the killing.
Mr Dewani remains subject to £250,000 (€284,000) bail and strict conditions including a curfew and the requirement that he report daily to a local police station. He denies organising his wife’s murder.
- Laura Roberts
© Telegraph.co.uk
