Student Stabbing Case: Teen’s Schizophrenia Went Untreated for Five Years Before Incident – Court

SHAH ALAM: A teenage boy who was acquitted of murdering a female student at a secondary school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, had suffered from schizophrenia that began at a very young age, before he turned 13, and the condition had persisted for five years, according to the High Court.

In the grounds of judgment released today following the teenager’s acquittal on Sept 14, Judge Adlin Abdul Majid said the mental illness had remained untreated throughout the five-year period, which was a significant factor influencing his actions at the time of the incident.

She said the teenager, who was 14 years and two months old at the time of the incident on Oct 14, 2025, had gone five years without undergoing a psychiatric assessment despite having received counselling and the school having raised concerns about his condition.

“We must remember that the illness occurred in a mind that was still undergoing neurological development, which shapes a person’s normal ability to assess and distinguish reality,” she said.

Adlin said that based on the unchallenged psychiatric evidence, the teenager’s prolonged exposure to violent media content should be viewed as part of the symptoms and manifestations of a mind already affected by the illness, rather than the result of mature and conscious choices.

She said the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient to rebut the finding that the teenager’s delusions had rendered him incapable of understanding that his actions were wrong or contrary to the law.

The judge also said she was satisfied that between 9.20am and 9.35am on Oct 14, 2025, the teenager, due to unsoundness of mind arising from schizophrenia, was incapable of understanding the nature of his actions or that they were wrong or contrary to the law.

“Accordingly, the teenager has discharged the burden placed upon him under Section 105 of the Evidence Act to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that on Oct 14, 2025, when he caused the death of a female student, he was, by reason of unsoundness of mind, incapable of knowing the nature of his act and understanding that his actions were wrong or contrary to the law within the meaning of Section 84 of the Penal Code,” she said.

In her judgment, Adlin said symptoms of the psychotic illness, which began at a very young age and eventually became severe, had been detected since the teenager was nine years old and documented over a five-year period through testimony from family members, school records and teachers’ observations.

Among the signs identified were a tendency to isolate himself, delusional thinking, refusal to remove his face mask, frequent lateness to school due to fear, and hearing voices that did not exist, she said.

However, the judge said the teenager’s symptoms had been interpreted as behavioural or disciplinary problems rather than a condition requiring immediate medical attention.

Adlin said the case also highlighted how a serious mental illness could develop in a child without being recognised by those around them, as well as the severe consequences that could arise when such a condition goes unidentified.

She therefore expressed hope that the case would raise awareness among parents, schools, courts and society about the signs and consequences of untreated mental illness among children so that symptoms could be identified and treatment provided earlier.

She said the decision was made in the hope that other families would not have to endure the suffering experienced by the two families involved.

Based on the evidence presented, the court also found that at the time of the incident, the teenager did not perceive the victim as a human being but instead regarded the female student as a non-player character, or NPC.

The court found that the teenager was immersed in a fictional world at the time and viewed killing the victim as a move in a game that he believed would transfer the victim’s attributes to himself.

Adlin also said the teenager did not believe that his act of killing the victim would result in death and that, at the time of the incident, he was detached from reality, with his actions no longer controlled by his rational mind.

“Based on this evidence, I am satisfied that the psychotic illness he was suffering from at the time rendered him incapable of understanding that he was taking the life of a living human being. Instead, he perceived the act as a fantasy involving an object created by his own delusions,” she said.

The judge said the Psychiatric Report showed that at the time of the incident, the teenager believed he had transformed into a god-like figure who had the right and responsibility to administer justice as portrayed in the anime concerned.

She also said the teenager had acted under the influence of command auditory hallucinations — voices that directed and controlled his actions — as recorded in the Psychiatric Report.

On Sept 14, the High Court acquitted the teenager of the murder charge and ordered that he be placed and treated at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Perak, at the pleasure of the Sultan of Selangor.

He had been charged with murdering his schoolmate in the girls’ toilet of a national secondary school in Bandar Utama between 9.20am and 9.35am on Oct 14, 2025.

The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, as well as up to 12 strokes of the cane if the death penalty is not imposed.

However, Section 97(1) of the Child Act 2001 stipulates that the death penalty cannot be imposed on individuals under the age of 18.

Bernama