Teen accused in Bandar Utama school killing diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia and viewed others as ‘non-player characters’

The accused teenager viewed people around him as "non-player characters" and maintained a journal detailing psychotic thoughts, influenced by a character from the anime Death Note.

A psychiatric report revealed a history of mental illness in his family, worsening behaviour due to social isolation during the pandemic, and a progression of psychotic symptoms.

The boy was diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia, experiencing untreated psychosis for five years, which led to an altered perception of reality by the time of the incident.

PETALING JAYA, Sept 23 — The 15-year-old boy who killed his female schoolmate at a secondary school in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, last year had come to view the victim and those around him as “NPCs”, the Shah Alam High Court was told.

In gaming terminology, an NPC — or non‑player character — refers to background characters controlled by the game rather than by a human player, and the term is sometimes used online to imply that a person lacks agency or individuality.

In her full grounds of judgment, Judge Adlin Abdul Majid said this was disclosed in a psychiatric report prepared by Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony, the director and senior consultant forensic psychiatrist at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta.

In disclosing his findings, Dr Ian highlighted the existence of a “ Death Note ” journal on the accused’s mobile phone, in which he repeatedly referred to the deceased while chronicling the disturbing and psychotic thoughts in his mind.

Death Note is a Japanese anime and manga series centred on a student who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing their name, and the character Kira — whom the accused identified with — is portrayed as a vigilante who believes he has the authority to judge and eliminate others.

The journal, written in Mandarin, contained accounts of his symptoms six months before the murder.

“The entries show persecutory beliefs that classmates were conspiring against him and deserved to die, a wish for mass casualties, and a conviction that others would lie to the police to make him appear at fault.

“They show his dehumanisation of those around him, most starkly in his adoption of the term NPC to describe his schoolmates as subhuman, valueless game objects.

“They show a grandiose delusion of having become Kira, a godlike figure entitled to judge and eliminate others, and open identification with Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold and other mass killers as role models and (in his own words) as gods,” she said in her grounds.

Adlin said the entries further showed the evolution of his fixation on the deceased, from professed love to an intention to take her with him in death, alongside pervasive suicidal thoughts, profound loneliness and a belief that his self-worth was entirely tied to his physical appearance.

Psychiatric report findings

The psychiatric report also noted a strong family history of mental illness, including an institutionalised aunt, a mentally disordered paternal grand-uncle and two affected sons, as well as a family member treated for depression.

Dr Ian further said that the child’s situation worsened over the years as he was exposed to the internet, video games and anime.

The report said that from around 2020, when the child was nine and during the Covid-19 movement control period, his family and later teachers observed a gradual change in his behaviour, with him becoming withdrawn, isolating himself in his room and refusing to communicate with his family.

“He also developed a persistent belief that he was physically unattractive and that other students were laughing at and talking about him.

“He began wearing a face mask at all times, even after public health requirements had ended, refusing to remove it to eat or drink at school.”

Outside home, he became highly anxious and believed people were observing him, which the report described as paranoid delusions.

The psychiatric report identified a further evolution of psychotic symptoms in 2023, when he became suspicious that CCTV cameras had been secretly installed in his home and believed he was being watched by ‘the eye’ of a technician who had repaired the system.

The report described this as a paranoid delusion, reinforced by his perception of a red light in his room, which was recorded as a visual hallucination.

“He later became convinced that his parents had covertly installed cameras in his room and bathroom.

“By early 2025, the belief had extended to his school, where he believed the security guard and certain teachers were secretly monitoring him via CCTV, including while he was in the school washroom,” the report added.

Dr Ian also said the accused began developing an interest in school shooters and serial killers, while from around August 2024, he developed an infatuation with the deceased.

Seven months before the murder, Dr Ian noted that the accused began experiencing auditory hallucinations in the form of a voice he attributed to Dylan Klebold, speaking to him in Mandarin and instructing him to kill the deceased.

Around the same period, the accused also began identifying with Light Yagami, or Kira, the god-like vigilante from Death Note .

“Taken as a whole, I accept that this chronology reflects a serious and longstanding psychotic illness that developed and worsened progressively over several years.

“By the time of the incident, the child was in the grip of an active psychosis, marked by delusions directed at the deceased and a commanding hallucinated voice instructing him to kill her,” Adlin said.

She said Dr Ian’s testimony rejected the suggestion that the accused had feigned his symptoms, with the journal entries confirming that the psychotic beliefs described in the psychiatric report were not constructed for the trial but were genuinely present in the boy’s mind in the period leading up to the incident.

Adlin said that three weeks after being prescribed antipsychotic medication, Dr Ian testified that the accused’s hallucinations had ceased and his delusions had begun to dissolve, while he also began engaging warmly with his family in a manner not seen for years.

In fact, the illness’s severity was well documented, with Dr Ian stating that the accused had experienced a wide range of psychiatric symptoms for about five years without receiving medical treatment by the time the offence occurred, including severe and debilitating psychotic symptoms in the form of hallucinations and delusions.

“Based on the evidence set out in the psychiatric report, DW2 (Dr Ian) diagnosed the child with schizophrenia, of very early onset (before the age of 13) with psychopathic and sadistic traits.

During cross-examination, Adlin said DW2 drew an important distinction between hallucinations and delusions, explaining that hallucinations are intermittent and come and go, whereas delusions are fixed and continuously present.

“On this basis, the delusional system was not something that came upon the child occasionally. It was present throughout, including during the incident,” she said.

Adlin also noted that DW2 explained the clinical significance of the accused having remained untreated for five years, noting that this period, known as the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), is measured from the onset of symptoms to the start of medication.

“The Malaysian mean DUP is 28.7 months, compared with approximately 60 months in the child’s case.

“DW2 then elaborated that untreated psychosis does not remain static — it becomes more elaborate over time, and the longer it goes unchallenged, the more internally logical it becomes to the person experiencing it, and the more resistant to correction.

“As such, by the time of the incident, the child’s reality testing was impaired to the point that the world he perceived was not the world the rest of us live in,” she said.

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这名被指控的青少年将周围的人视为“非玩家角色”，并写了一本日记，详细记录了他的精神病想法，其灵感来源于动漫《死亡笔记》中的一个角色。

一份精神病学报告显示，他有精神病史，由于疫情期间的社会隔离，他的行为恶化，并且出现了精神病症状。

这名男孩被诊断​​患有早发性精神分裂症，经历了五年未经治疗的精神病发作，导致事发时他对现实的感知发生了改变。

八打灵再也，9月23日讯——莎阿南高等法院获悉，去年在八打灵再也万达镇一所中学杀害女同学的15岁男孩，已经将受害者和周围的人视为“NPC”（非玩家角色）。

在游戏术语中，NPC（非玩家角色）指的是由游戏控制而非由人类玩家控制的背景角色，该术语有时在网络上用来暗示某人缺乏自主性或个性。

在她的完整判决理由中，法官阿德琳·阿卜杜勒·马吉德表示，这是由巴哈吉亚乌鲁金塔医院院长兼高级法医精神病顾问伊恩·劳埃德·安东尼博士撰写的精神病学报告中披露的。

伊恩博士在公布调查结果时，重点指出被告的手机里有一本“死亡笔记”，他在笔记中反复提及死者，并记录了他脑海中令人不安和精神错乱的想法。

《死亡笔记》是一部日本动漫和漫画系列，讲述了一名学生发现了一本超自然的笔记本，可以通过写下任何人的名字来杀死他们。书中的角色基拉（被告认同的角色）被描绘成一个相信自己有权审判和消灭他人的义警。

这本用中文写成的日记记录了他在谋杀案发生前六个月出现的症状。

“日记内容显示他抱有迫害心理，认为同学们密谋陷害他，他罪该万死；他希望造成大规模伤亡；他还坚信其他人会向警察撒谎，让他看起来像是有错的。

“这些都展现了他对周围人的非人化态度，最明显的例子就是他用‘NPC’这个词来形容他的同学，把他们描述成低等的、没有价值的游戏对象。

“他们表现出一种夸大的妄想，认为自己变成了基拉，一个有权审判和消灭他人的神明般的人物，并且公开认同埃里克·哈里斯、迪伦·克莱伯德和其他大规模杀人犯，将他们视为榜样，（用他自己的话说）甚至将他们视为神，”她在理由中说道。

阿德林表示，日记进一步显示了他对死者的迷恋的演变，从公开表达爱意到打算带她一起死，同时伴随着挥之不去的自杀念头、深深的孤独感以及一种自我价值完全取决于外貌的信念。

精神病学报告结果

精神病学报告还指出，该家族有很强的精神疾病史，包括一位被送进精神病院的姑姑、一位患有精神障碍的叔祖父和两个受影响的儿子，以及一位接受过抑郁症治疗的家庭成员。

伊恩医生进一步表示，随着孩子接触互联网、电子游戏和动漫，他的情况逐年恶化。

报告称，从 2020 年左右，也就是这名孩子 9 岁的时候，正值 Covid-19 行动管制令期间，他的家人和后来的老师观察到他的行为逐渐发生变化，他变得孤僻，把自己隔离在房间里，拒绝与家人交流。

“他还一直认为自己外表不好看，其他同学都在嘲笑他、议论他。

“即使在公共卫生要求解除之后，他仍然一直戴着口罩，拒绝在学校摘下口罩吃饭或喝水。”

离开家后，他变得非常焦虑，认为有人在监视他，报告称这是妄想症。

精神病学报告指出，2023 年他的精神病症状进一步发展，他开始怀疑有人秘密地在他家中安装了闭路电视摄像头，并认为自己正被维修该系统的技术人员的“眼睛”监视着。

报告称这是一种妄想症，他感觉房间里有一束红光，这被记录为视觉幻觉，从而强化了他的妄想。

“后来他确信他的父母在他的房间和浴室里秘密安装了摄像头。”

报告还补充道：“到 2025 年初，这种想法已经蔓延到他的学校，他认为学校的保安和某些老师正在通过闭路电视秘密监视他，甚至在他上厕所的时候也在监视他。”

伊恩博士还表示，被告开始对校园枪击案凶手和连环杀手产生兴趣，而从 2024 年 8 月左右开始，他对死者产生了迷恋。

在谋杀案发生前七个月，伊恩医生注意到被告开始出现幻听，他听到一个声音，他认为是迪伦·克莱伯德的声音，用普通话和他说话，并指示他杀死死者。

大约在同一时期，被告也开始认同《死亡笔记》中如同神一般的义警夜神月（基拉）。

“总的来说，我认为这一时间顺序反映了一种严重的、长期的精神疾病，这种疾病在几年内逐渐发展和恶化。

阿德林说：“事发时，这名儿童正处于精神病发作期，其表现为对死者的妄想，以及一个命令式的幻觉声音指示他杀死她。”

她说，伊恩医生的证词驳斥了被告假装出现症状的说法，日记条目证实，精神病报告中描述的精神病信念并非为了审判而捏造的，而是在事件发生前的一段时间里，男孩的脑海中真实存在的。

阿德林说，伊恩医生作证说，在服用抗精神病药物三周后，被告的幻觉消失了，妄想也开始消散，同时，他也开始以多年未见的方式与家人亲密相处。

事实上，该疾病的严重程度有据可查，伊恩医生表示，被告在犯罪发生时已经经历了大约五年的各种精神症状，但没有接受治疗，其中包括严重的、使人衰弱的精神病症状，如幻觉和妄想。

“根据精神病学报告中提出的证据，DW2（伊恩医生）诊断该儿童患有精神分裂症，发病年龄很早（13 岁之前），并伴有精神病态和虐待狂特征。

在交叉询问中，阿德林表示，DW2 对幻觉和妄想做出了重要的区分，解释说幻觉是间歇性的，时有时无，而妄想是固定的，持续存在。

“由此可见，这种妄想状态并非偶尔出现在孩子身上，而是贯穿始终，包括事发期间，”她说道。

阿德林还指出，DW2 解释了被告五年未接受治疗的临床意义，并指出这段时期被称为未治疗精神病持续时间 (DUP)，是从症状出现到开始服药的时间段。

“马来西亚的平均未治疗未成年子女数为 28.7 个月，而该儿童的未治疗未成年子女数约为 60 个月。

“DW2 进一步阐述道，未经治疗的精神病不会保持静止状态——随着时间的推移，它会变得更加复杂，而且它持续的时间越长，就越容易被患者视为合乎逻辑，也越难以纠正。

“因此，到事发时，这名儿童的现实检验能力已经受损，以至于他所感知的世界与我们其他人生活的世界截然不同，”她说。

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