In a legal proceeding unfolding in Belize District this week, a property damage charge against 25-year-old Ashema Chang has been suspended, after Chief Magistrate ruled she is currently unfit to enter a formal plea and ordered a full psychiatric evaluation to assess her mental competency.
Chang made her first court appearance for arraignment on Tuesday, where observers noted she appeared visibly disoriented and incorrectly stated her name during the hearing. Despite the suspension of proceedings, the magistrate granted Chang bail set at $300, plus the requirement of one surety to secure her release. The case has been formally adjourned until November 13 to allow time for the evaluation process. The magistrate also issued a directive to Chang’s family, requesting they disclose her full medical history and guarantee the assessment is completed before any further legal steps are taken in the matter.
The criminal charge against Chang traces back to a suspicious residential fire earlier this month that completely destroyed a single-family home located in Belama Phase Five. The blaze caused an estimated $45,000 in total property loss, according to early estimates. The home’s owner, Eugene Thompson, has spoken out publicly about his frustration with the pace of the investigation and the court’s recent ruling. Notably, Thompson had been ordered by a separate court order to vacate the property for a 15-day period just before the fire broke out.
In a on-camera interview transcribed from a local evening news broadcast, Thompson shared his perspective on Chang’s behavior and the ongoing investigation. He stated that he lived with Chang for six months prior to the fire, and never observed any obvious signs of mental instability during that time. “She been normal, normal, normal. Everything starts since me and she’s just start go through this thing ya. And through the text ney weh she send da like somebody weh real sane. And we lived together like for six months, she never really got ney kinda way. Call it like no crazy signs, nothing. So if she to the point where she can’t remember she name, something wrong with that. You check me? You never reach that point in your life, and it weird because, like, you could put on a real show for people,” Thompson said.
Voicing skepticism over the competency ruling, Thompson argued that investigators have overlooked key evidence in the case to focus solely on Chang’s mental state. “Well, the way I see it from the time ney she this young lady unfit, cause da dat ney di try seh. She unfit for trial, to justice, I se no hope. Like because like people believe anything weh ney see. No go by the truth none at all. Up to now nobody no come to me, nobody no come try investigate the crime, not at all. All them do da focus ‘pon she. No police come to me fi investigate, ask me nothing about she, nothing. And that show me no hopes or nothing..”
Thompson has also alleged that Chang explicitly threatened to burn down his home in the days leading up to the fire. Law enforcement officials previously charged Chang with an additional count of threatening property damage in connection with the incident. This report is a transcribed version of a live evening television broadcast, with Kriol language statements rendered using a standard regional spelling convention for accuracy.