The Shah Alam High Court has acquitted a 15-year-old boy of murdering a 16-year-old female student in a stabbing incident at a secondary school in Bandar Utama last year, after finding that he was legally insane at the time of the incident.
Judge Adlin Abdul Majid ruled that the defence had successfully established the requirements of Section 84 of the Penal Code, while the prosecution failed to rebut the defence of insanity.
The teenager’s lawyer, Kitson Foong, said psychiatrist Dr Ian Lloyd of Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta had confirmed that the teenager was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The central issue during the trial was therefore his mental state at the time of the incident, rather than whether he had committed the physical act that caused the victim’s death.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution called 11 witnesses, while the defence presented two, including the teenager and Dr Ian Lloyd. The judge also reminded the teenager of the seriousness of having taken a life and warned him not to take the second chance given to him lightly.
The court ordered the teenager to be sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment, including medication and counselling. Further assessments will be conducted before determining whether he is ready to return to society.
