KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — The family of 16-year-old Yap Shing Xuen, who was fatally stabbed at a Bandar Utama secondary school last year, has claimed in a lawsuit that breaches of duty of care by the assailant’s parents, school authorities and government agencies contributed to her death.
In the lawsuit filed in the High Court on October 1, Wong Lee Ping and Yap’s sister, Shing Tong, were named as the plaintiffs, with 18 respondents named in the suit.
Among those named are the boy’s parents, the boy himself, and several school authorities, including his homeroom teacher, the school principal, and teachers responsible for counselling and student affairs.
The family also named officers from the Petaling Utama district education office, the Selangor education department director, the director-general of education, the education minister, the registrar general of educational institutions and teachers, the director-general of health, the health minister, the women, family and community Development minister and the government of Malaysia.
Wong, who is also suing as the estate administrator and in her own right, is seeking special damages totalling RM120,602 for Shing Xuen’s funeral expenses from the named defendants jointly and separately.
She is also separately seeking general damages to be assessed by the High Court, including any other relief the court deems fit or appropriate.
In court documents sighted by Malay Mail, Wong said the killing could have been prevented if the boy’s family and the government agencies named in the suit had taken preventive measures.
“The first defendant (the boy) had been displaying mental health illness since at least 2020.
“It was reasonably foreseeable by the second and third defendants (the boy’s parents) that the boy had mental health issues and that he could pose a threat to himself and others.
“The same would apply to the fourth and ninth defendants (the school authorities) when the boy had enrolled in the school in or around 2024,” she said.
In her claim against the boy and his parents, Wong said the parents failed to exercise due care as parents and guardians, resulting in the killing, and breached their duty of care by failing to ensure that the boy received proper medical attention.
She also said it was reasonably foreseeable that the named government agencies’ failure to properly implement relevant policies could result in students with mental health conditions posing a safety risk to other students, including physical harm.
Wong said the family’s claim against the school authorities and government agencies was for negligence.
She said intervention measures could have been taken if the necessary steps had been implemented for early detection.
This would have included a more detailed assessment of the boy’s mental health condition, including a psychiatric assessment, which could have led to his removal from the school until that risk to other students’ safety was adequately addressed.
In detailing her losses, Wong said the sudden and senseless loss of Shing Xuen’s life caused her immense grief, as she had raised her as a single mother.
Since the killing, Wong said she had been unable to focus on her work, reducing her income and significantly affecting her livelihood as the family’s primary breadwinner.
As for Shing Xuen’s sister, Wong said she is currently pursuing tertiary education but has been unable to focus on her studies effectively, which affects her academic performance.
Both also said they had yet to fully come to terms with the shock and trauma caused by the killing, adding that they were not mentally prepared to speak to a healthcare professional about their pain and suffering as of the lawsuit filing date.
Lawyer Surendra Ananth, who is representing the family, said the lawsuit is currently scheduled for case management on October 29.
