A 16-year-old student in Malaysia was arrested after allegedly livestreaming an axe attack on his teacher. She suffered minor hand injuries before students intervened. He was expelled and sent for psychiatric evaluation as police investigate.
student at an international school in Kuching, Sarawak, was arrested after he allegedly livestreamed the axe attack on a female teacher inside the classroom on Wednesday, October 21.
In a video that went viral on social media, especially on X (formerly Twitter), the boy was seen strapping a mobile device to his head before pacing through the school corridors and launching the sudden assault on a teacher, who was conducting a lesson in the classroom. Other students and staff immediately intervened to subdue him.
The incident captured the attention of the locals in Kuching and social media, prompting a widespread discussion around campus safety and mental health awareness among students.
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How Did the Shocking Incident Unfold?
Kuching, which is located in Sarawak’s capital on the island of Borneo, became a centre of national dialogue on school security following a shocking incident inside a classroom filled with students around 8:00 am at an international school.
In a viral video, the 16-year-old boy was seen exiting the washroom after fixing a mobile device to his head. The accused reportedly livestreamed the incident on his Facebook account, where he was seen walking through the corridors and storming into the classroom where the teacher was conducting a lesson.
The CCTV footage inside the classroom captured the students panicking and scrambling for safety. As the female teacher attempted to disarm the suspect to protect her students, she suffered cut injuries to her hand in the ensuing scuffle. The two male students intervened and one of them took away the weapon and pinned him down until school authorities and security personnel arrived.
The 16-year-old student was withheld in accordance with standard legal protocols protecting minors, though local authorities confirmed he is a Form Four student. Meanwhile, the livestream of the axe attack on Facebook was taken down by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which acted swiftly alongside platform moderators to curb its further distribution across online networks.
The student was taken into custody and subsequently transferred to the psychiatric ward at Sarawak General Hospital for medical and psychological evaluation, as confirmed by Sarawak acting police commissioner Deputy Commissioner Saifullizan Ishak.
Why Did The Student Attack a Female Teacher?
The 16-year-old student’s attack on a female teacher inside the classroom sent shockwaves across Malaysia, raising concerns about the underlying factors behind the violent outburst.
However, the motive behind his axe attack on the teacher has not been disclosed by the teacher, as Sarawak Police Headquarters has stated that the case remains under investigation. According to reports, the case is being probed under Section 324 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon and Section 6(1) of the Explosives Act 1957 regarding the possession of explosive materials.
The Sarawak police have recovered the axe, penknife, and firecrackers from the scene as physical evidence to assist in establishing the timeline and circumstances surrounding the assault. The police are expected to investigate the motive behind the attack once the psychiatrist's assessment and witness statements are fully processed.
Meanwhile, the school, Tunku Putra-HELP International School (TPH), released an official statement confirming that the teacher sustained no critical injuries and was recovering well. The school also said students were safely evacuated from the classroom and that no injuries were reported.
The accused student will no longer enroll at the same school, confirming that he has been expelled and barring him from returning to the premises.
