Psychosis impaired teen’s understanding of act in Bandar Utama school murder, court says

The Shah Alam High Court has ruled that a 16-year-old schoolgirl's murder in Bandar Utama last year was not the result of a months-long plan, instead finding that the accused's psychotic illness impaired his understanding of the act. Judge Adlin Abdul Majid stated that merely knowing the physical act of stabbing the deceased would not suffice to demonstrate comprehension of the nature of homicide.

The court rejected claims that the murder was planned, instead finding the alleged "plan" stemmed from the accused's delusions. Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony, a forensic psychiatrist, recorded that the accused, immersed in video games, viewed all people as NPCs - useless, monotonous, computer-controlled characters lacking independent thought.

Due to his delusions, the accused saw students, teachers, parents, and society as such characters. The court found that the accused did not understand the finality of death and believed the deceased would be reincarnated. The prosecution's claim that the delusions were simply a motive for the killing was dismissed, with Adlin stating they affected the accused's ability to comprehend that what he was doing was wrong.

The court also rejected the argument that the accused's months-long planning showed he had the ability to organize his actions, stating that every element of the plan relied on the delusional system. The court noted that the accused's failure to plan an escape, dispose of evidence, or evade capture after the incident was more consistent with the psychiatric evidence that his actions were driven by psychosis.