The Straits Times | Teen jailed 16 years for killing River Valley High schoolmate with axe - video Dailymotion

The Star

An 18-year-old boy was sentenced to 16 years in jail in Singapore on Friday (Dec 1) after pleading guilty to killing a fellow River Valley High School student with an axe on campus in 2021.   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00 The 18-year-old accused of killing his schoolmate with an axe at this secondary school campus in 2021

00:07 has been sentenced to 16 years in jail on Friday.

00:11 The accused cannot be named because he was 16 and legally still a minor when he committed the offence.

00:18 During Friday's hearing, the court also lifted the gag order on the victim's identity at the parents' request.

00:24 The 13-year-old boy who died was Ethan Han.

00:28 The court revealed more details of what happened before and on the morning of the killing.

00:34 If you've been following this case, you'll remember that the accused had been handed a murder charge,

00:40 but that was reduced to one of culpable homicide because he had been suffering from depression when he killed Ethan.

00:48 The court revealed the accused had bought several weapons, including the axe that was used in the killing.

00:55 His plan was to commit suicide by going on a killing spree in school so the police could shoot him dead.

01:02 His first attempt was on July 14.

01:05 He took the axe and a knife to school in a badminton bag and hid them under a sink in a male toilet.

01:12 But he failed to follow through with his plan that day.

01:16 He tried again on July 19.

01:18 At about 11.15am, he went to the toilet and waited for the students inside to leave.

01:24 He then closed the door and windows to prevent screams from being heard.

01:30 When Ethan entered the toilet at around 11.30am, that's when the attack happened.

01:35 The accused attacked him from behind, repeatedly slashing the 13-year-old's head, neck and body.

01:43 At about 11.35am, the accused left the toilet with the axe and approached other students to call the police, but they ran away.

01:52 Ethan was pronounced dead at the scene.

01:55 Both did not know each other.

01:57 The accused picked the victim, Ethan, entirely at random, deciding to attack the first person who entered the toilet.

02:05 During earlier proceedings, the court heard that the accused had attempted suicide when he was 14.

02:12 He was assessed at the Institute of Mental Health.

02:15 In a statement through their lawyer, Ethan's parents said they are heartbroken.

02:20 Yet, they want to encourage everyone to remember Ethan fondly instead, for his goodness, his kind heart and his peace-loving nature.

02:29 If you need or know someone who needs help, these are some helplines you can call.

02:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]

The Straits Times | Teen jailed 16 years for killing River Valley High schoolmate with axe

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