A 15-year-old boy charged with murdering his 16-year-old schoolmate in SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4) was ordered by the Shah Alam High Court to enter his defence on August 13, 2026 [1, 2, 3]. The stabbing allegedly occurred on October 14, 2025, in the girls’ toilet between 9:20 and 9:35 a.m. at the school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor [1, 2, 3, 4].
Presided over by Judge Adlin Abdul Majid, the court ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the boy, allowing the trial to proceed with his defence [1, 5, 2, 6, 3, 4]. The boy pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in February 2026 [2, 3]. The charge carries a potential death penalty under Section 302 of the Penal Code, but the child’s age protects him from the death sentence under Section 97(1) of the Child Act 2001 as he was under 18 at the time of the crime [1, 2, 6, 3, 4]. Instead, the court may order detention at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or state ruler under Section 97(2) of the Child Act [1, 2, 6, 3, 4].
The prosecution called 11 witnesses over a six-day period from August 3 to August 11 before the defence case began [2, 6]. The boy was brought to court from Puncak Alam Correctional Centre, a juvenile facility [2, 6]. The trial is held in camera with the accused’s identity protected under the Child Act 2001 [2, 6, 3, 4].
The defence relies heavily on psychiatric evidence by Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony from Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, who evaluated the boy over three months and confirmed his fitness to stand trial [2, 6, 7, 8, 3, 4]. Dr Ian testified the boy has suffered mental illness and delusions for about five years, notably worsening due to lack of treatment and manifesting after the Covid-19 pandemic as social withdrawal and constant mask-wearing [7, 8]. Defence counsel Kitson Foong said the boy "needs to be on lifelong medication" and "can recover, but it will take time, with counselling in a proper psychiatric hospital" [8].
The boy expressed remorse in court through an unsworn statement delivered in Mandarin, apologising for causing the victim's death [1, 7, 4]. Kitson Foong described the statement as read "with emotion and meaning because that is what he really meant." He added that "the illness had gone untreated for about 60 months, which caused it to progressively worsen and become increasingly difficult to treat." [7, 8]
The prosecution secured consent from the Attorney General’s Chambers in January 2026 to transfer the case from Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court to the Shah Alam High Court after the psychiatric evaluation confirmed the accused’s fitness to stand trial [3]. The next phase will see the defence presenting its case following the High Court's order for the accused to enter his defence.
