Here is a polished, detailed version structured into paragraphs without internal headings, while carefully distinguishing the court’s findings from claims and statements made by the victim’s family.
A 15-year-old boy who was accused of fatally stabbing 16-year-old schoolgirl Yap Shing Xuen in a school restroom in Malaysia has been acquitted of murder on the grounds of insanity, a decision that has prompted an emotional response from the victim’s mother. Yap was killed at SMK Bandar Utama 4 on October 14, 2025, in a case that drew widespread public attention because of the circumstances surrounding the attack and the age of both the victim and the accused.
The court’s decision was delivered on September 14, 2026, when Judge Adlin Abdul Majid acquitted the boy, whose identity is protected because he was a minor. Following closed-door proceedings, the court ordered that he be detained and treated at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta rather than face a murder conviction. His lawyer, Kitson Foong, said the defense had established the requirements under Section 84 of Malaysia’s Penal Code concerning criminal responsibility and insanity.
According to Foong, the defense did not dispute during the proceedings that the boy was responsible for Yap’s death. Instead, the central legal issue was whether his mental state at the time of the incident meant that he could not be held criminally responsible for the killing. Foong said the court therefore acquitted the boy on the basis of insanity.
The lawyer also said the court ordered the boy to remain in psychiatric care and receive treatment, counseling and medication until a report is submitted indicating that he may safely return to society. Any future decision to release him, according to the explanation given by his lawyer, would be made by the Sultan of Selangor on the advice of psychiatric specialists.
Foong further disclosed that a report prepared by Dr. Ian Lloyd Anthony, director of Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta and a forensic psychiatrist, concluded that the boy had been diagnosed with severe schizophrenia. The lawyer said the medical assessment indicated that the boy was not in his normal mental state at the time and that he believed he was God and heard voices.
The ruling has been met with grief and frustration from Yap’s family, particularly her mother, Wong Lee Ping, who has continued to speak publicly about her daughter’s death since the incident. Following the court’s decision, Wong expressed her feelings on social media and apologized to her late daughter while saying that the family would continue seeking justice for her.
Wong has previously challenged descriptions of the attack that she believed did not fully convey the severity of what happened to her daughter. She has repeatedly spoken about the injuries Yap suffered and about what she says occurred inside the school restroom.
According to Wong’s account, Yap was inside a locked bathroom stall when she screamed for help. Wong said the boy entered the cubicle from above after climbing or jumping over the stall structure. She said Yap’s cries were heard by people nearby before the attack ended and the boy left the restroom.
Wong also said teachers had to break open the locked stall door after the boy escaped, leaving Yap inside. By the time the teachers reached her, according to her account, the teenager had already died.
The number of stab wounds has also been a major point raised by Wong in her public statements. She said early reports that described Yap as having been stabbed around 50 times did not accurately reflect the extent of her daughter’s injuries. Wong stated that Yap had been stabbed approximately 200 times, including wounds affecting areas from her neck toward her lungs and injuries to her legs.
Those descriptions come from the victim’s mother and should be distinguished from the court’s legal finding. The information provided does not include a complete judicial account of the evidence concerning the number or distribution of injuries, nor does it independently verify every detail of Wong’s account.
Yap’s death has continued to resonate with her family and others who followed the case. The court’s decision does not erase the loss experienced by her loved ones, while the psychiatric order means that the boy will remain subject to medical treatment and legal restrictions rather than simply being released following the acquittal.
The case has therefore entered a different phase, centered on psychiatric treatment and the conditions under which the boy could eventually be considered safe to return to society. For Yap’s mother and other members of her family, however, the focus remains on remembering the 16-year-old girl and seeking accountability and recognition for the circumstances surrounding her death.
