A River Valley High School student who was charged with killing a 13-year-old boy in school with an axe, is set to plead guilty at the High Court later this year, in August, according to Channel NewsAsia.
The now-18-year-old is facing a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, after his previous murder charge was downgraded.
His case was heard at a district court earlier today (6 April), with the district judge transferring the case to the High Court where the boy will be pleading guilty.
He was seen in court wearing a mask and sporting a shaved head, and his identity cannot be revealed due to a court order.
The 18-year-old had told the prosecution in a case conference last month (21 March) that he will be intending to plead guilty.
The court was informed by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sean Teh that a tentative date for the plea of guilty has been fixed on 7 August, with defence lawyer Joyce Khoo confirming that her client will be pleading guilty.
Recap
The 18-year-old River Valley High School student who allegedly hacked a 13-year-old boy to death with an axe inside a 4th-floor school toilet was previously charged with murder.
The then-16-year-old has since had his murder charge downgraded to culpable homicide not amounting to murder on 24 February.
The teen appeared in court on 24 February via a video link from his place of remand, wearing a white shirt and a face mask, and sporting a shaven head.
According to Singapore Statutes Online, culpable homicide is not considered murder when “the offender whilst deprived of the power of self-control by grave and sudden provocation, causes the death of the person who gave the provocation, or causes the death of any other person by mistake or accident”.
The reason for the downgrade was not disclosed.
If convicted, the teen faces a life imprisonment sentence with caning or up to 20 years jail with a fine or caning.
Background
The 16-year-old boy from River Valley High School was charged on 20 July 2021 with the murder of a 13-year-old schoolmate.
As the defendant is under 18 he cannot be named.
The defendant is accused of the murder which happened between 11.16 AM and 11.44 AM, inside a toilet on the 4th floor of Block D of the school. According to the prosecutor, the defendant was previously “treated” at the Institute of Mental Health.
The police received a call for help at the school at about 11.40am on 19 July 2021, and the victim was found with multiple wounds at the toilet, lying motionless.
The deceased was allegedly slashed on the head, neck and body with an axe that measured 50cm by 22cm on the day of the murder.
He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, and the axe was also seized as a case exhibit.
Investigations revealed that the victim and the alleged killer didn’t know each other, and that the boy bought the axe online.
Student saw axe dripping with blood
In yet another leaked Whatsapp message detailing the attack at River Valley High School that left a Secondary 1 boy dead, a girl was alleged to be the first to see the perpetrator.
The message appears to be a conversation between a parent and another identified party.
The parent detailed that the daughter was the first to see the attacker because the incident allegedly happened in front of her classroom.
She allegedly saw the boy (attacker) holding the axe dripping with blood, and his shoes were also allegedly drenched in blood.
Panicked students messaged their parents
A series of leaked Whatsapp messages allegedly from River Valley High School students detailing the “knife attack” at their school, circulated on Whatsapp
One of the students said that there was a male student holding a “v big axe (SIC)” outside their classroom, and that he looks crazy.
They shared that everyone was “damn scared” and that there was “literally blood dripping”.
In the other screenshot, it appears to be a conversation between a student and his/her parents.
The student corroborated the accounts of the first screenshot, saying that he/she saw a boy holding an axe.
The student alleged that three girls from his/her class saw a sec 3 boy at the water cooler washing away blood.
He saw them and asked them if they had a phone, because he “killed someone”.
The student said that classes 1H and 1G were hiding in the co-room.
The parent then replied “keep yourself safe”, and asked “can we fetch you now?”
