Teen accused of murder at River Valley High School to be transferred to Changi Prison Complex
The entrance of River Valley High School on Jul 19, 2021. (Photo: Calvin Oh)
SINGAPORE: The 16-year-old boy accused of murdering a Secondary 1 student at River Valley High School in July will be moved to Changi Prison Complex.
He will be allowed visits from his lawyers and family at Changi Prison.
On Tuesday (Aug 31), the prosecution said the teen, who appeared in the State Courts via video-link, would no longer be held in remand at Police Cantonment Complex. He has been there for the past week following the completion of his psychiatric evaluation.
The accused, who cannot be named as he is a minor and his identity is protected by a gag order, had previously been allowed a video call with his parents on Aug 13.
Last Tuesday (Aug 24), the prosecution said arrangements were being made to allow the 16-year-old to speak to his parents.
"I just want to tell the accused person that I will be seeing him soon and his parents will be seeing him very soon," said the boy's lawyer Sunil Sudheesan then.
The teenager was previously in remand at Changi Prison’s Complex Medical Centre for psychiatric evaluation after being charged on July 20, a day after the alleged murder.
Findings from the evaluation have not yet been made known.
The court had previously heard that the teen was a former patient at the Institute of Mental Health, after attempting suicide in 2019.
The Singaporean teenager faces one charge of causing the death of a 13-year-old between 11.16am and 11.44am on Jul 19 at a toilet on the fourth floor of the school at 6 Boon Lay Avenue.
Police officers found the victim lying motionless with multiple wounds at a toilet in the school compound.
He was pronounced dead at the scene and an axe was seized as a case exhibit.
Preliminary investigations showed that the accused and the victim did not know each other, police said at the time.
The accused will appear in court again on Oct 19, following a High Court pre-trial conference on Oct 12.
While murder typically carries the death penalty in Singapore, those below the age of 18 face life imprisonment instead if convicted.
