Boy, 14, threatened to carry out school stabbing, constructed homemade weapon

SINGAPORE – A 14-year-old boy who constructed a weapon using a kitchen knife and bamboo pole had threatened to carry out a stabbing in his school.

The boy, now 15, has plead guilty to a charge of intentionally causing alarm by making a threatening communication and was sentenced to six months in a juvenile rehabilitation centre.

Court documents on Jan 26 stated that the boy had set a photo of the makeshift weapon as his WhatsApp profile picture. It was seen by his classmates and form teacher, who alerted his mother.

As the boy was “known to go berserk suddenly”, his mother feared for the safety of herself and her bedridden husband. She reported the incident to the police the next day.

When the police arrived, the boy was found locked in his room and refused to open the door. After unlocking the door, he was found brandishing the makeshift weapon.

He was arrested without putting up a struggle.

The boy was diagnosed with social communication disorder and adjustment disorder, but was found to be of sound mind.

According to court documents, the boy had extreme views on terrorism and radicalisation, and expressed thoughts about harming himself and his schoolmates. He also brought sharp objects like a knife and sewing kit to school.

In an incident when he was reminded to submit his homework, he threw his mobile phone out of the classroom window. He also threw a canned drink and swung a metal flask at his mother.

The judge concluded that probation was unsuitable for the boy as he does not have adequate family support and supervision, with his father being bedridden from paralysis after an accident, while his mother was terrified of him and could not control him.

The mother had supplied the kitchen knife he used for the makeshift weapon after giving into his demands. She also delayed reporting the matter to the police, the judge noted.

The prosecution argued that the boy should be placed in a juvenile rehabilitation centre for 24 months, but the judge said this was disproportionate to the gravity of the offence.

The boy, who has appealed, refused to attend therapy and said that the requirement for him to attend counselling or therapy was unreasonable.