Chinese wife, 91, accused of murdering husband, 98

Family friends told local media the couple had been married for more than 70 years and were cared for by their grandchildren.

SYDNEY, March 16, 2010 (AFP) - A 91-year-old Chinese woman accused of murdering her 98-year-old husband in their Sydney home was Tuesday ordered to undergo psychiatric assessment.

Clara Tang was charged with murder after she was allegedly found, bloodstained but unhurt, in the inner-city apartment she shared with her husband, Tang Ching Yung, who died from head wounds there on Friday.

Tang's barrister, John Davidson, said the Shanghai-born grandmother was in a "poor and confused" state and should be released from a women's prison into a locked hospital ward for treatment by specialists in geriatric care.

"She doesn't speak English, adding to her discomfort," Davidson told Sydney's Central Local Court, adding that she suffered from "serious medical issues."

Magistrate Allan Moore, urged by prosecutors to note the severity of the elderly man's head injuries, ordered Tang to undergo a psychiatric assessment on whether she posed a threat before he could release her to the doctors.

Family friends told local media the couple had been married for more than 70 years and were cared for by their grandchildren, though they lived alone.

They described Tang as a "very, very gentle" person.

Initial media reports suggested Tang suffered from severe dementia and showed no recollection, when she first appeared in court, of what had happened in her apartment.