Vancouver stranger attack suspect undergoing psychological assessment

Court records show a man suspected in the brutal assault of a tourist in Vancouver was released from jail soon before the attack.

The man accused of violently assaulting an Ontario woman in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour neighbourhood last week is now undergoing a psychological assessment, according to the city’s police chief.

Peterhans Nungu, who is facing a single count of assault causing bodily harm in that incident, had been in custody for a week, before a Vancouver provincial court judge released him on bail Wednesday afternoon.

The details of the bail hearing are protected by a publication ban. However, at the Vancouver Police Board meeting on Thursday, Chief Const. Adam Palmer commented on Nungu’s release, telling board members the accused is undergoing “a psych assessment of some sort” and has conditions that amount to “house arrest.”

“So, they are in hospital right now being reviewed, but we do have some concerns – not about them getting assessed, but (about) the fact that that person may be back out in (the) community," Palmer said.

“Stay tuned to see what further information will be coming forward if that continues to be the case and that person is not held on some sort of a psych hold. But criminally, they have been released, which is concerning.”

Palmer says bail reform is an issue that continues to concern police leaders across the country.

“I’m all fine with giving people second or third chances and that kind of thing,” he said.

“But sometimes – when we’re talking about very serious crimes where people have been seriously victimized – I think people like that should remanded into custody.”

Just hours before the alleged assault in Coal Harbour, court records show Nungu was released from custody in Surrey where he was arrested and charged with assaulting a peace officer.

He was also charged with uttering threats, uttering threats to burn, destroy or damage in that case. The file is marked as a “K” file, a designation courts use to indicate cases of alleged intimate partner violence.

“There is no excuse for the level of risk that is being placed upon the public because of the failures of our justice system here in British Columbia,” BC Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko told CTV News.

Sturko, who serves as the public safety critic, says Premier David Eby needs to continue to apply pressure to the federal government for stricter bail laws.

“The fact of the matter is we continue to have violent repeat offenders released on bail only to subsequently harm someone,” she said.

Speaking at an event Thursday, Eby said he didn’t know all the particulars of the case but called it “disturbing,” saying he hopes Nungu can get the help he needs.

“I’m very hopeful, that this individual, that there will be interventions, to ensure that this individual does not repeat a cycle of violence,”

None of the charges against Nungu have been tested in court. He’s scheduled to be back before a judge in Surrey on May 5 and in Vancouver on May 20th.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ian Holliday