Psychiatric chief believes suspect in B.C. RCMP officer’s death still unfit for trial

COQUITLAM — B.C.’s director of forensic psychiatric services believes the man accused of first-degree murder in the killing of RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang in a Burnaby, B.C., park in 2022 remains unfit for trial.

Lawyer Quin Sheppard, representing the director at a B.C. Review Board hearing on Tuesday, suggested Jongwon Ham should remain in custody at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam, B.C., for a further 12 months with no community access before his next hearing.

Sheppard also suggested a weapons prohibition, including sharp or bladed objects, perhaps with the exception of eating utensils.

Ham is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Yang, a mental health and outreach worker for the RCMP, who was stabbed to death on Oct. 18, 2022, when she tried to speak to a man in a tent in Broadview Park.

Tuesday’s hearing at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital was Ham’s first public assessment since a B.C. Supreme Court judge found him unfit to stand trial in April.

The panel’s chairperson told Ham at the conclusion of Tuesday’s hearing that his lawyer would be informed of their decision on his fitness in 24 to 48 hours.

Ham, wearing a black sweatsuit a black Crocs-style sandals, declined the opportunity to answer questions at the hearing, saying “I think I’m good” when asked.

Sheppard said in his closing submissions that he “believes the evidence before the board is not enough to displace” the court’s finding of unfitness.

He said the central question was whether Ham was able to conduct a defence. He pointed to Ham’s “long-standing belief system,” saying there was “nothing in the evidence” to suggest they have changed.

Ham’s lawyer, Caroline Senini, told the hearing during closing submissions that “Mr. Ham’s position is he remains unfit to stand trial.”

She agreed there was a lack of evidence to overturn Justice Michael Tammen’s April decision and the evidence presented Tuesday showed no significant changes in his belief system.

Senini said “a softening of behaviour does not mean those delusions have softened.”

She said the defence agreed to the 12-month order suggested by Sheppard, but noted it would also agree to an earlier next hearing if it is believed he becomes fit.

But Crown lawyer Gerri-Lyn Nelson suggested the board may see the evidence presented Tuesday as “rebutting the presumption of unfitness on the balance of probabilities.”

She said the facts of the case were “simple and tragic” and its impacts persisted for Yang’s loved ones and fellow officers. She argued that Ham does not need to make decisions in his best interest and the presence of delusions does not make someone unfit.

She said what matters is if a person is “overwhelmed by delusions,” and suggested the evidence did not meet that bar.

If the board found Ham was still unfit, Nelson posed a shorted trajectory of six months rather than 12, “so this matter can start sooner rather than later.”

The review board hearing earlier heard from forensic psychiatrist Mandeep Saini, who is treating Ham.

Saini was one of two psychiatrists who testified at the previous fitness hearing and shared the opinion he was unfit for trial, while the review board hearing is to assess Ham’s current state.

The doctor testified in April that Ham either had a delusional disorder or schizophrenia, but now he said more details and a “broader clinical picture” indicated schizophrenia, though he noted that this was not integral to the question of fitness.

Saini said Ham’s delusions were strongly held.

He said Ham had been on antipsychotic medication since May 25 under a treatment plan of slowly increasing the dose, noting he had not yet had a “trial of the adequate dose.”

The doctor said he was unsure if the key issues that led to the court’s April ruling remained intact as Ham still refused to answer questions on key issues.

Saini said there was some evidence of “softening” of his beliefs but it was unlikely that about seven weeks of antipsychotic medication on a low dose would be enough time to change them.

Ham’s social worker Derrick Carew also provided a report to the board and briefly testified at the hearing on Tuesday, calling Ham “co-operative” in their meetings.

Ham’s first-degree murder trial had been slated to begin in January but on the first scheduled day, Tammen instead ordered the fitness hearing to determine if the defendant had the mental capacity to understand the charge and if he could take part in his own defence.

In April the judge said Ham was “clearly overwhelmed by delusional thinking,” which would prevent him from making rational decisions during trial.

The judge referred the matter to the B.C. Review Board, which is an independent tribunal that assesses the mental health of those criminally accused.

The hearing was subject to a publication ban on anything about Ham’s conduct in the criminal proceedings including how he intended to plea, his statements about the alleged offence, and discussions between Ham and his lawyer.

B.C.’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, said in a statement in December 2022 that the man in the tent was shot and wounded by Yang but there were no reasonable grounds to believe the shooting constituted an offence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2026.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press