River Valley High School student, 16, charged with murder of schoolmate, 13

SINGAPORE - A 16-year-old student from River Valley High School (RVHS) was charged with the murder of a fellow student, 13, in a district court on Tuesday (July 20) morning.

Neither boy can be named as they are under the age of 18.

The 16-year-old appeared in court via video-link and was accused of murdering the 13-year-old at a level four toilet in the school between 11.16am and 11.44am on Monday.

The accused was represented by lawyer Peter Fernando.

Those found guilty of murder can receive the death penalty. However, those aged below 18 will not get the death sentence but could be given life imprisonment instead.

At the Singapore General Hospital mortuary on Tuesday morning, a police van arrived at the compound around 8.45am. Three people dressed in black and wearing lanyards got off the vehicle carrying boxes. A second police van arrived at the mortuary about 10 minutes later.

The police said in a statement on Monday that they arrested the 16-year-old boy, a Secondary 4 student, for his suspected involvement in the death of a Secondary 1 student, 13. Both boys are Singaporeans.

At about 11.40am on Monday, the police were called to RVHS where officers found the younger teenager lying motionless with multiple wounds at a toilet.

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He was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedic.

The police said that preliminary investigations revealed that the teenagers are not known to each other.

An axe was also seized as a case exhibit.

The police said on Monday they intended to seek an order from the court to remand the teenager for psychiatric assessment.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.