The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has officially appealed the High Court’s decision to acquit a 15-year-old boy in the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old student Yap Shing Xuen at a Bandar Utama school.
The AGC confirmed that it filed a Notice of Appeal at the Court of Appeal on Sept 22, seeking to challenge the Shah Alam High Court’s Sept 14 decision.
The appeal comes days after Shing Xuen’s mother, Wong Lee Ping, publicly urged the authorities to consider challenging the ruling and thanked members of the public who had supported her family.
Following the latest development, Wong took to Facebook to express her gratitude to those who had stood by the family throughout the case.
“Thank you for not giving up on us. Thank you for being willing to walk this journey with us. Thank you to every kind person. I’m grateful to have you with us along the way,” she wrote.
She said receiving news that an appeal had officially been filed left her with “many feelings that are difficult to put into words”.
For Wong, the support from strangers had meant far more than simply signing a petition or sharing a post. She said every signature, message and act of support reminded her family that their daughter had not been forgotten and that their voices were being heard.
“As a mother, all I can do is keep fighting for my daughter”
Wong acknowledged that the appeal process could still be a long one and that she did not know what the eventual outcome would be. But she said the appeal at least gave the case another opportunity to be examined through the legal process.
“As a mother, all I can do is continue walking this path for my daughter,” she said.
She also hoped that the facts and evidence would continue to receive proper and thorough consideration throughout the appeal.
The High Court had acquitted and discharged the teenager at the end of the defence case after finding that he was of unsound mind when the offence was committed. The court subsequently ordered him to undergo psychiatric treatment at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak. The defence had relied on the insanity defence under Section 84 of the Penal Code. The AGC’s latest appeal will now bring the matter before the Court of Appeal.
The case dates back to Oct 14, 2025, when Shing Xuen was fatally stabbed in a girls’ toilet at her secondary school in Bandar Utama. The teenager, who was 14 at the time of the incident, was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code. The trial was held in camera because he was a minor.
The prosecution called 11 witnesses during the trial, while the defence called two witnesses, including the accused and a psychiatrist.
The case will now proceed to the next stage of the judicial process following the AGC’s appeal.
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