A fruit picker facing a murder trial after it was alleged he used a circular saw to amputate the leg of another man has had his charge suspended at the last minute.
John Yalu, 29, allegedly killed Innisfail farm labourer and grandfather Kalman Tal, 66, when he removed his leg with a circular saw at 3.48am on February 19, 2022.
Mr Yalu, originally from Vanuatu, was referred to a mental health court on Friday at the request of his lawyer Michael Rodrigues at Cairns’ Supreme Court.
Justice James Henry had already disapproved of how long the case was taking by the time Mr Rodrigues requested a translator and change of courts for his client.
The Queensland Mental Health Act 2016 enables criminal proceedings to be suspended for weeks at a time if any reference is made to the Mental Health Court.
The charge against John Yalu, 29, has been suspended as the matter is considered by the Mental Health Court in Queensland
Mr Yalu, from Vanuatu, is accused of murdering grandfather and farmer Kalman Tal (pictured), 66, by amputating his leg with a circular saw and leaving him to bleed out on February 19, 2022
The chief psychiatrist can deem any defendants they suspect to be of an unsound mind unfit for trial before referring them to the Mental Health Court.
Police allege that Mr Yalu amputated Mr Tal’s leg at the knee using a circular power saw after the pair had driven to Fitzgerald Park in the centre of Innisfail, 90km south of Cairns, and sat underneath a tree together.
Mr Tal’s body was found by pedestrians on Fitzgerald Esplanade at 4:23am on Saturday, February 19.
Police believe Mr Tal and Mr Yalu laid out a blue tarpaulin before the grandfather injected himself with a sedative.
As a result of an alleged exchange of $5,000, police claim Mr Tal brought his own battery-charged table saw for Mr Yalu to cut off Mr Tal’s leg at the knee.
The Queensland Mental Health Act 2016 allows cases to be suspended if any reference is made to the Mental Health Court, which Mr Yalu’s lawyer, Michael Rodrigues, had done
Mr Yalu then helped Mr Tal back to his car and left soon afterwards, with the pensioner leaving the vehicle some time later before he was discovered.
Paramedics could not revive Mr Tal who is believed to have died from cardiac arrest due to exsanguination, or bleeding out.
His distraught family broke their silence to Daily Mail Australia, saying Mr Tal was a ‘lovely man’ but had been ‘ill’ and ‘desperate’ prior to his death.
It later emerged that he had been likely suffering from a condition known as ‘body integrity dysphoria’ in which the sufferer does not feel a psychological connection with a particular body part, and feels an obsessive desire to remove it.
Mr Yalu is no longer in correctional service custody and the suspension of his case can be revoked at any time upon the direction of the chief psychiatrist or once the Mental Health Court makes a decision on the referred matter.
One possibility is that the prosecution of Mr Yalu may be discontinued.
