16-Year-Old In Singapore Charged With Murder After Axe Attack On 13-Year-Old Schoolmate
The incident sent shockwaves throughout Singapore as the little red dot has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
By Ahmad Hamizan @ Mike Miz — 21 Jul 2021, 12:44 PM
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Disclaimer: This story contains gruesome details that might be distressing to some readers.
A 16-year-old Singaporean boy has been arrested and charged with murder after a body was found in a school toilet with multiple slash wounds
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the boy was charged on Tuesday, 20 July, with the murder of a 13-year-old schoolmate with an axe.
Police were called to the prestigious River Valley High School the day previous after frenzied parents received messages from their children informing of the incident and the school was placed under lockdown.
Upon arrival, the police found the victim lying motionless with multiple slash wounds in the school's toilet. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Preliminary investigations revealed that the two male teenagers do not know each other ... The police are continuing investigations into the motive for the assault," read a statement.
A charge of murder typically carries the death penalty in Singapore, but minors are sentenced to life imprisonment instead under the Criminal Procedure Code.
At the court hearing, reports The Straits Times, the prosecution asked that the accused be remanded for psychiatric observation before serving his sentence.
They revealed that the 16-year-old was previously a patient at the Singapore Institute of Mental Health after attempting suicide in 2019.
The case has sent Singapore into shock, with many politicians expressing grief at the "tragic incident"
Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, on Tuesday afternoon had said that investigations are ongoing "to find out the motivations behind this tragedy, and if something could have been done to avert it".
"Like all of us, I was shocked by yesterday's tragic incident at River Valley High School. We cannot make sense of what happened. Words fail us because we cannot understand," he said sorrowfully.
Education Minister Chan Chun Sing, who visited the school on the day of the attack, said that the tragic turn of events has left Singapore in a state of grief.
Chan said that psychological support is being provided to staff and students who need it, and that they are rendering any support services the school may need.
