Court denies request for fully closed trial in Bandar Utama murder civil case

Justice P Anand ruled there was no justification for a blanket ban on public and media access to the civil lawsuit stemming from the Bandar Utama school stabbing. He explained that protecting the identity of the child, referred to as L, can be achieved through targeted orders rather than a total closure. The court permitted future applications for in-camera testimony if evidence might reveal the child's identity, and it ordered all filed documents to remain sealed.

The lawsuit, brought by the family of victim Yap Shing Xuen, names several government agencies, the boy and his parents, alleging negligence over mental-health issues in schools. Earlier, a Shah Alam High Court had acquitted the 15-year-old perpetrator on grounds of unsound mind, sentencing him to detention for treatment at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta. The Attorney-General’s Chambers has filed an appeal against that ruling.