What Happens To The 15-Year-Old Boy Acquitted Of Killing His Bandar Utama Schoolmate?

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The 15-year-old boy acquitted of murdering his schoolmate, Yap Shing Xuen, will not simply walk free after the Shah Alam High Court's decision

Instead, he will be transferred from Puncak Alam Correctional Centre to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak for psychiatric treatment.

The Shah Alam High Court ordered that he be detained there at the pleasure of the Sultan of Selangor after finding him to have been of unsound mind when 16-year-old Yap was fatally stabbed at SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4) in October last year.

So what does that actually mean for the boy, and when, if ever, can he be released?

While the alleged perpetrator has been acquitted, he is still being detained

The boy's acquittal was based on the defence of unsoundness of mind under Section 84 of the Penal Code, according to the New Straits Times.

His lawyer, Kitson Foong, said the defence established that the boy was suffering from severe schizophrenia at the time of the incident, while the prosecution failed to rebut the defence.

The court therefore did not convict him of murder.

But the acquittal does not mean he is being released into the community.

Instead, Judge Adlin Abdul Majid ordered that he be detained and treated at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta.

This is why it's important to note that the High Court's decision should not be understood as a conventional "not guilty and free to go" outcome.

There is no fixed release date

His lawyer said the order requires him to remain in psychiatric care until the Sultan of Selangor receives a report stating that he is fit to return to society and is no longer a threat to the public. Any eventual order for his release would come from the Sultan upon the advice of psychiatric doctors.

In other words, his detention is linked to his mental condition and the assessment of the risk he poses, rather than simply counting down a prison sentence.

The legal framework allows a person acquitted on grounds of unsoundness of mind to be dealt with separately from the criminal conviction itself.

Why was he sent to a psychiatric hospital?

During the trial, the defence called Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta director and forensic psychiatrist Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony as a witness.

According to Foong, Dr Ian found that the boy was suffering from severe schizophrenia.

"He was not his normal self. He thought he was God and heard voices," Foong told reporters after the closed-door proceedings.

The boy himself was also called as a defence witness.

Foong said the judge accepted the psychiatrist's evidence and report in finding that the boy was of unsound mind when the stabbing happened.

That finding was crucial to the Section 84 defence.

What happens while he is in hospital?

The immediate next step is psychiatric treatment.

Foong said the boy will receive treatment, counselling, and medication at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta. He will also no longer be held at the correctional centre where he has been detained since being charged with murder.

His lawyer said the boy has already shown improvement while taking medication. The boy will remain under treatment and psychiatric assessment.

What does "at the pleasure of the Sultan" mean?

The phrase does not mean the Sultan personally decides when the boy has recovered. Rather, the boy's detention continues subject to the Sultan's authority, with medical advice forming the basis for any eventual decision on whether he can safely return to society.

Foong said the court order requires a psychiatric report to be submitted when doctors consider the boy fit to return to society and no longer a threat. Only then can the Sultan consider an order for his release.

The murder trial began on 3 August and heard evidence from 11 prosecution witnesses, including the boy's elder brother

The defence called two witnesses, the boy and Dr Ian.

The trial concerned the death of Yap, who was 16 when she was fatally attacked in the girls' toilet at SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4). She suffered at least 180 stab and incised wounds. The boy had pleaded not guilty.

Today's ruling determines the criminal charge against the boy, but it does not mean he immediately returns to ordinary life. For now, his next chapter is a psychiatric hospital rather than a prison or his family home.