PETALING JAYA: The 14-year-old boy charged with the murder of his schoolmate will undergo psychiatric evaluation at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak.
Magistrate Amira Sariaty Zainal granted the application made by his lawyer Anwar Ezzad Zainal under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
Section 342 stipulates that an accused person suspected of being of unsound mind may be sent for mental evaluation at a gazetted government hospital to determine his or her fitness to stand trial.
The matter was confirmed by lawyer Kitson Foong, who appeared as amicus curiae (friend of the court) during the closed-door proceedings yesterday.
The boy cannot be named, as he is a juvenile according to the Child Act.
Media personnel, who gathered at the court as early as 7am, were barred from entering the courtroom.
He was brought in an unmarked white van and was led to the courtroom through an internal route.
Facing the law: Media personnel approaching the van carrying the 14-year-old accused as it arrives at the Petaling Jaya Court Complex. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star
Outside the courtroom, Foong said the application was made in his best interests to ensure he received reasonable arrangements for his protection against self-harm during his detention, as well as for the safety of others around him.
“The psychiatric evaluation must also assess his fitness to plead, his capacity to enter a plea and his understanding of the nature of the proceedings held today (yesterday).
“What is most important is his state of mind before and during the offence committed,” he told reporters after the proceedings at the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday.
Foong also confirmed that the psychiatric evaluation will be done at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak.
Earlier, the boy was charged with the murder of a 16-year-old girl at the female toilet of a secondary school in Bandar Utama here between 9.20am and 9.35am on Oct 14.
According to Foong, the boy kept silent as he stood beside his parents when the charges were read out to him by the court interpreter. He also nodded after the charges were read.
No plea was recorded as murder cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Deputy public prosecutors Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin, Aqharie Durranie Aziz and Nur Sabrina Zubairi appeared for the prosecution.
The charge was made under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder and carries a death sentence or imprisonment between 30 and 40 years and a minimum of 12 strokes of the rotan.
The court fixed Nov 21 for case mention and the submission of forensic and pathology reports.
On Monday, the 16-year-old victim, Yap Shing Xuen, was cremated.