Honestly, I am angry. Not just sad. Not just shocked. Angry. I cannot understand how someone can take another person's life and simply leave a family to pick up the pieces. Irene was only 16. She went to school that day expecting to come home. She had dreams, a future and a family who loved her. Who gave anyone the right to take all of that away from her?
A 16-year-old girl went to school for tuition on a Saturday and never came home. Irene Sofiya was a Form Four student from Yong Peng, Johor. According to her grandmother, she was a good and well-behaved girl who dreamed of becoming a doctor, following in the footsteps of her late mother. She was only 16. She had so much life ahead of her.
According to New Straits Times, on October 3, around 5.30pm, two of Irene's classmates noticed that her motorcycle was still parked at school, but she was nowhere to be found. They went to her house, and her grandmother and aunt rushed to the school. They found Irene in the school hall, covered in blood and suffering serious injuries. Her grandmother reportedly held her while she was still slightly responsive. Irene looked at her one last time before she went still. Medics later pronounced her dead at the scene.
Just imagine being her grandmother. You go to school expecting to bring your granddaughter home, only to find her fighting for her life in the school hall. You hold her in your arms, she looks at you one last time, and then she is gone.
How is any family supposed to live with that?
Police are investigating the case as a murder, and the motive remains unclear. Several 16-year-old boys from the same school were reportedly detained, while one suspect was brought to court and remanded for six days. The Prime Minister has ordered a full investigation, while the Education Minister has also gone to Yong Peng to examine what happened (Source: Channel News Asia).
Of course, the investigation must be completed properly. Whoever is responsible must be identified, and the evidence must be tested in court. But if someone is eventually convicted of deliberately taking another person's life, I honestly struggle with the idea that we should focus so much on protecting the offender that we forget about the victim.
I don't care how young you are. I don't care how angry you were. I don't care what argument you had. You have no right to decide that another human being should die.
And if mental illness is involved, then yes, it should be properly assessed and treated. But we also need to remember the person who is no longer here. Irene does not get treatment. Irene does not get a second chance. Irene does not get to grow up.
Her grandmother does not get her granddaughter back. Her family does not get to watch her graduate. And Irene does not get to become the doctor she dreamed of becoming. That is what makes me angry.
Malaysia has already seen other tragedies involving young students. Last year, 16-year-old Yap Shing Xuen died after being stabbed by a schoolmate. Then there was Zara Qairina, whose death at a school hostel shocked the country and whose inquest is still ongoing. Now we are mourning Irene.
Different cases may have different circumstances, but how many times are we going to say, "This is shocking", hold discussions for a few weeks and then move on?
What is happening to our children?
I know some people will say, "They are only children." But being young does not mean actions should have no consequences. If a juvenile is convicted of an extremely serious crime such as murder, I believe Malaysia needs to seriously reconsider whether our current juvenile sentencing framework provides a punishment that is clear, proportionate, and meaningful.
I am not saying every troubled child should be treated like an adult. I am saying that age should not make the value of the victim's life feel smaller.If someone is found guilty of taking a life, there must be serious accountability.
At the same time, we need to ask how these tragedies can be prevented. Parents and teachers need to talk to children more. Ask if they are being bullied. Ask if they are bullying someone else. Ask who they spend time with. Ask whether they have seen something frightening at school. And when they speak, actually listen.
Children need discipline, boundaries and consequences. But they also need counselling, supervision and early intervention. We cannot wait until a student is seriously injured or dead before everyone suddenly starts asking what went wrong.
Irene was not just another name in the news. She was someone's granddaughter. Someone's daughter. Someone's future doctor. Her late mother was a doctor, and Irene wanted to follow in her footsteps. Think about all the people she could have helped. Think about the future she could have had.
That future was taken away from her. That's why I am angry.
Our children go to school to learn, grow up, make friends, and build their future. Parents should be able to send them through the school gates without wondering whether they will come home alive.
Irene should have been preparing for her future. She should have been studying to become a doctor. She should have been coming home.
Instead, her family is preparing for a funeral.
How many more children need to die before we finally say: enough is enough?
Felicia Yoan (feliciayoan11@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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