Malaysian schoolgirl murder acquittal
A Malaysian court acquitted a teenage boy of murdering his 16-year-old schoolmate, Yap Shing Xuen, on grounds of insanity, ruling he was of unsound mind when he fatally stabbed her - inflicting at least 180 wounds - in a school toilet outside Kuala Lumpur. Judge Adlin Abdul Majid found during closed-door proceedings that defence psychiatrist Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony had established the boy, who was 14 at the time and cannot be named as a minor, suffered from severe schizophrenia and had experienced delusions since age nine, a condition that worsened during the pandemic and after his return to school. Rather than being freed, the boy was ordered detained at a psychiatric hospital for treatment, where he will remain under yearly assessment until deemed fit for release; his lawyer said he appeared 'neutral in emotion' but understood the gravity of the ruling.
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16 September 2026
14 September 2026
- Malaysian boy acquitted for murder of schoolgirl on grounds of insanity BBC News
- Malaysian teenager acquitted of killing schoolmate South China Morning Post