Malaysian school stabbing victim was polite, liked helping others, says friend
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The 16-year-old was killed in a stabbing incident at a school in Malaysia’s Selangor state.
ST PHOTO: HAZLIN HASSAN
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KUALA LUMPUR – The 16-year-old girl who was killed in a stabbing incident at a Malaysian school
Adam Maulana, 15, said on Oct 16 that he still could not believe his classmate and friend Yap Shin Xuen, whom he had known since Form One, was gone.
“She was a very polite girl,” he said at the Nirvana Center Kuala Lumpur, where the wake is being held.
“She never raised her voice and she liked helping others. Last year, she was the class assistant and I was the class monitor.
“We worked closely together. She was a good student and a very nice person.”
Adam recalled that on the day of the incident, the class was preparing for an examination when Yap asked to go to the washroom.
“She left the class and didn’t come back for about 20 minutes,” he said. “Then our teacher went out to check the corridor. After that, the teacher saw the suspect at the school courtyard holding a knife.”
He added that the teacher immediately told everyone to stay in class and lock the doors.
“At the time, I was in my classroom on the third floor,” he recalled. “The suspect was downstairs at the courtyard. The toilet is on the ground floor and his classroom is also on that level.”
Adam said many students were in shock after learning that Yap had been attacked in the washroom.
“I felt so sad. She didn’t deserve this. She was such a good person,” he said.
He noted that Yap did not know the suspect personally.
“She didn’t know him at all. I’ve never seen them talking before. We don’t know the boy either,” he said.
According to Adam, the school conducted a spot check on the students’ bags and provided counselling sessions for those who were traumatised by the incident.
“After the incident, I didn’t go to school for a few days. Many of us were too shaken. The school provided counselling sessions for all students,” he said.
He added that teachers and the suspect’s brother had helped to restrain the suspect after the attack.
“I’m not sure who caught him first, but I know it was a teacher and a senior student,” he said.
Yap, a Form Three student, died after being allegedly stabbed by a 14-year-old male schoolmate during school hours at SMK Bandar Utama Damansara 4 in Selangor. The attack occurred at about 9.30am on Oct 14.
The police have arrested a suspect, who has been remanded for seven days to assist in the investigation. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
