High Court rejects bid for closed-door trial in civil suit over Bandar Utama school murder

The High Court rejected the teenager's request for the civil suit regarding the murder case to be heard in-camera, but allowed a ban on publishing identifying details.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Anand Ponnudurai emphasized balancing public interest with protecting the teenager's identity, permitting media reporting with restrictions.

Yap's family is suing for breaches of duty of care in her death, naming multiple parties, and seeking damages; the case appeals the teenager's acquittal for being of unsound mind.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — The High Court today rejected a bid by the teenager acquitted of murdering his schoolmate Yap Shing Xuen at a Bandar Utama secondary school last year to have the entire civil suit heard in-camera, or in closed-door proceedings.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Anand Ponnudurai said there was no basis for the broader order sought by the teenager, through his counsel, to hold the entire proceedings in-camera, excluding members of the media and anyone not directly involved in the case.

Anand said the court could not determine at this stage which witnesses would testify or the nature of their evidence, adding that the defendants could later apply for specific witnesses to testify in-camera if their evidence was likely to identify the teenager.

“The court is cognisant of the Child Act 2001, which restricts the reporting of details identifying a child, and also of the interest of justice and the public interest.

“There are many cases in which orders are granted to protect a child, but the proceedings are still conducted with the media allowed to report, subject to restrictions.

“Considering the nature of this case and the necessity to protect the child/first defendant (D1), I am of the view that a balancing act is required.

“While the child must be protected, I see no reason for a total ban on reporting. There will be benefits to the public in knowing what transpires and in the judgment,” he said in his ruling earlier today.

Nevertheless, Anand ordered a ban on publishing any information that could identify the teenager, and directed that all cause papers be sealed and kept confidential, accessible only to the parties and their solicitors.

He also ordered that the names of D1, his litigation representative and his parents be anonymised and referred to only by their initials.

Lawyer Surendra Ananth appeared for Yap’s family, while Nicholas Poon represented the teenager, Abraham Au appeared for the boy’s parents and senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin represented the government agencies.

In the current lawsuit filed on October 1, Yap’s family — her mother and sister — claimed that breaches of duty of care contributed to her death in October last year.

Among those named are the boy himself, his parents, and several school authorities, including his homeroom teacher, the school principal, and teachers responsible for counselling and student affairs.

The family also named officers from the Petaling Utama district education office, the Selangor education department director, the director-general of education, the education minister, the registrar general of educational institutions and teachers, the director-general of health, the health minister, the women, family and community development minister and the government of Malaysia.

Yap’s mother, who is also suing as the estate administrator and in her own right, is seeking special damages totalling RM120,602 for her daughter’s funeral expenses from the named defendants jointly and separately.

She is also separately seeking general damages to be assessed by the High Court, including any other relief the court deems fit or appropriate.

On September 14, the Shah Alam High Court acquitted and discharged the teenager after finding he was of unsound mind at the time of the offence, and ordered him to be placed at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta for a period subject to the Sultan of Selangor’s approval.

The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has since filed an appeal challenging the acquittal.

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高等法院驳回了这名青少年要求对谋杀案民事诉讼进行非公开审理的请求，但允许禁止公布可识别身份的细节。

司法专员拿督阿南德·蓬努杜莱强调，要在维护公众利益的同时保护这名青少年的身份，允许媒体在限制条件下进行报道。

叶的家人就其死亡提起诉讼，指控多方违反注意义务，并寻求赔偿；该案对这名青少年因精神不健全而被判无罪的判决提出上诉。

吉隆坡，10 月 22 日讯——高等法院今天驳回了去年在万达镇一所中学谋杀同学叶成春的少年提出的无罪释放申请，该少​​年要求将整个民事诉讼进行非公开审理，即闭门审理。

司法专员拿督阿南德·蓬努杜莱表示，这名青少年通过其律师提出的更广泛的命令没有任何依据，该命令要求将所有诉讼程序秘密进行，排除媒体成员和任何与案件没有直接关系的人。

阿南德表示，法院目前无法确定哪些证人将出庭作证或他们的证词性质，并补充说，如果证人的证词有可能指认这名青少年，被告可以稍后申请让特定证人进行非公开作证。

“法院注意到 2001 年《儿童法》限制报道可识别儿童身份的详细信息，同时也考虑到司法公正和公共利益。

“有很多案件中，法院颁布了保护儿童的命令，但诉讼程序仍在进行，媒体可以进行报道，但受到一些限制。

“考虑到本案的性质以及保护儿童/第一被告（D1）的必要性，我认为需要进行权衡。

“虽然必须保护儿童，但我认为没有理由完全禁止报道。公众了解事情的来龙去脉和最终判决结果，这对他们是有益的，”他在今天早些时候的裁决中说道。

尽管如此，阿南德还是下令禁止发布任何可能识别该青少年身份的信息，并指示将所有案件文件密封并保密，只有当事人及其律师才能查阅。

他还下令将被告 D1、他的诉讼代表以及他的父母的姓名匿名化，只用他们的姓名首字母指代。

律师苏伦德拉·阿南特代表叶家属出庭，尼古拉斯·潘代表这名少年出庭，亚伯拉罕·欧代表男孩的父母出庭，高级联邦律师刘鸿斌代表政府机构出庭。

在 10 月 1 日提起的诉讼中，叶的家人——她的母亲和姐姐——声称，违反注意义务导致了她去年 10 月的死亡。

被点名的包括男孩本人、他的父母以及几位学校负责人，包括他的班主任、校长以及负责辅导和学生事务的老师。

该家庭还点名了八打灵乌达玛县教育局官员、雪兰莪州教育局局长、教育总监、教育部长、教育机构和教师注册总署署长、卫生总监、卫生部长、妇女、家庭和社区发展部长以及马来西亚政府。

叶的母亲也以遗产管理人和个人名义提起诉讼，要求被告共同和分别赔偿其女儿丧葬费，总计120,602令吉。

她还单独向高等法院申请一般性损害赔偿，包括法院认为合适或适当的任何其他救济。

9月14日，莎阿南高等法院认定这名青少年在犯罪时精神不健全，并判其无罪释放，同时下令将其送往巴哈吉亚乌鲁金塔医院接受治疗，具体时间取决于雪兰莪苏丹的批准。

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