A Hilo Circuit Court judge ordered former mixed martial arts champion BJ Penn to undergo a mental health examination to determine his fitness for trial and whether he can be held criminally accountable for his actions in three cases involving the alleged abuse of his 79-year-old mother.

In a hearing Wednesday, Judge Peter Kubota suspended the three cases against the 46-year-old UFC Hall of Famer until he undergoes the examination, set for Jan. 9.

A Family Court complaint alleges Penn, whose legal name in Jay Dee Penn, physically abused his mother, Lorraine Shin, on May 25, committing abuse of a family or household member, a misdemeanor. Penn also is accused of refusing to comply with a police officer’s order the following day to leave Shin’s home, according to a May 27 criminal complaint

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