What we know about the Banting school stabbing

AT A GLANCE

• A 15-year-old female student was stable after sustaining 16 stab wounds in an attack at a secondary school canteen in Banting.
• The suspect, reportedly a classmate of the victim, has been remanded for four days to assist with attempted murder investigations.
• Legal representation confirmed the suspect is autistic and a registered person with disabilities who had been undergoing medical treatment.
• Education officials and local leaders have deployed psychosocial support teams and called for an urgent review of school security protocols.

A 15-year-old student was stabbed at a secondary school in Banting, Kuala Langat, on Monday. The suspect, also a 15-year-old student at the same school, has since been remanded for four days.

The incident

The stabbing took place at about 9.30am when the suspect is believed to have entered the school canteen via a route from the surau.

Police said they received a call at 9.50am reporting an injured female student on the school grounds, prompting officers from the Kuala Langat district police headquarters to be dispatched to the scene.

District police chief Superintendent Mohd Akmalrizal Radzi confirmed the victim is stable.

Videos that circulated on social media showed a commotion at the school, with a teenage girl dressed in a black T-shirt seen holding a knife and walking around the compound while other students seen running.

The victim

The victim reportedly suffered about 16 stab wounds to her body and face, along with a lung injury. She was rushed to Banting Hospital, where medical staff worked to drain blood from her left lung. She remains in stable condition and is able to speak.

Her father, Mohd Firuz Ibrahim, 43, a deliveryman, said he missed several calls from the school during the incident and initially assumed his daughter was unwell.

"I was sorting parcels at the time and didn't realise my phone was ringing. When I returned the school's call, I thought my daughter was simply unwell. I never imagined she had become the victim of a stabbing.

"So far, I have been informed that the medical team is working to drain blood from my daughter's left lung. She is in stable condition and is still able to speak," he said when met at Banting Hospital on Monday.

He said he understood the suspect may not have specifically targeted his daughter.

"I think my daughter may not have been the suspect's intended target. Perhaps the suspect was after someone else, but my daughter happened to be the closest and didn't have time to run, so she became the victim," he said, adding that he hoped the school would tighten its security measures to prevent a recurrence.

The suspect

The suspect is understood to be a Form Two student at the same school and according to the victim's father, was his daughter's classmate. She had reportedly not attended school for several months and was undergoing medical treatment.

Her lawyer, S Vijeswari Devi of the Malaysian Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK), said the suspect is autistic and a registered person with disabilities (OKU).

"My client is autistic. That is all I can say," she told reporters outside the court today.

Investigation and remand

The case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine upon conviction.

"Initial investigations found that the victim was stabbed with a knife by another female student. This case is being investigated under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder, which carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years and a fine upon conviction," said Akmalrizal.

He added that police were advising the public against speculation that could disrupt the investigation.

On Tuesday, Jul 7, Magistrate Maslinda Selamat at the Telok Datok Court ordered the suspect remanded for four days.

About 20 members of the media gathered outside the court from 8.30am. The suspect was brought in by police vehicle at about 8.10am and taken out again by about 9am, though she was not seen by waiting reporters.

Response from officials

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek visited the school on the day of the incident and met with the school management team. She said police had secured the situation and stressed that the immediate priorities were the victim's medical treatment and psychological support for students and staff.

"May the principal, our dear teachers and the students be given the strength and fortitude to face this ordeal. I appeal to the public to refrain from spreading false information or manufacturing rumours while the police investigation is underway," she said.

The Selangor Education Department said counsellors and guidance teachers had been deployed to provide psychosocial support to students, teachers and the wider school community.

"Our immediate priority is to ensure that the injured student receives the best possible medical treatment and that assistance is provided to her family," the department said in a statement.

Banting assemblyman and Selangor Human Resources and Poverty Eradication Committee chairman V. Paparaidu thanked the state Education Department for the support provided and called for tighter security at school entry gates.

"The security of our children in schools cannot be compromised. Guards need to remain constantly alert, monitoring everyone who comes and goes, especially when students arrive or leave for the day," he said in a Facebook post.

Meanwhile, Mara chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki called on the government to take holistic action to strengthen school safety and address rising mental health issues among students.

"Sad to read the latest news of the stabbing case at a school in Banting. The government needs to take immediate and holistic action to address safety issues in schools and the rise in cases involving mental health," he said on Facebook.

Monday's incident follows a similarly shocking case last year, when 15-year-old student Yap Shing Xuen was murdered by stabbing in Bandar Utama, Selangor, last year.

In that case, the perpetrator, a 14-year-old student of the same secondary school, stabbed Yap to death using a knife in a school toilet.

The suspect allegedly stabbed the female student outside a classroom and she died at the scene, while Petaling Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Shamsudin Mamat said initial findings did not reveal any elements of bullying, adding that the victim and suspect were believed to have known each other as they studied at the same school, although in different levels.