KUALA LUMPUR: The year 2025 will be remembered as one of the most unsettling periods in Malaysia’s recent history of crimes involving minors, not only as victims, but also as perpetrators.
A series of violent and sexual crimes, many unfolding within spaces once considered safe — schools, homes and digital platforms — forced the nation to confront uncomfortable truths about child protection, youth behaviour and systemic failure.
From a fatal school stabbing in Selangor to sexual crimes facilitated by smartphones and online platforms, the cases shattered long-held assumptions about childhood innocence and institutional safety.
Beyond the individual horrors of each case, what made 2025 especially disturbing was the growing role of technology in facilitating crimes involving
minors.
Smartphones, encrypted messaging platforms and online games emerged as common threads, either as tools for exploitation or triggers for violence.
As public outrage mounted throughout the year, these incidents sparked conversations about accountability, not only
of perpetrators, but of institutions entrusted with children’s well-being.
Parents, educators, religious leaders, technology companies and policymakers found themselves under scrutiny, as Malaysians grappled with a painful realisation that protecting minors needed more than reactive policing after harm has already been done.
Below are several cases that shocked the nation:
DEATH OF ZARA QAIRINA MAHATHIR
On July 16, Form One student Zara Qairina was found unconscious near a drain beneath her school dormitory at SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha Limauan, Sabah.
She had sustained severe injuries and was admitted to Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu where she succumbed to her injuries the following day.
Her body was later exhumed for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death.
Her death, believed to be linked to bullying, sparked outrage following allegations involving prominent figures, prompting calls for justice and widespread grief under the hashtag #JusticeForZara.
An inquest is ongoing to determine the circumstances leading to her death and separately, five juveniles were charged with bullying the 13-year-old girl. The trial is also ongoing.
MURDER OF TISHANT MUNISAMMY
Tishant Munisammy, 6, was reported missing by his father from his home in Taman Bukit Indah, Johor Baru on July 26.
Several days later, his 36-year-old father was arrested and led Johor police to Rompin in Negri Sembilan, where Tishant’s body was found.
The father, M. Arunkumar, an e-hailing driver, was charged with the murder of his son.
PONDOK HEADMASTER
In September, a headmaster of a pondok school in Tumpat, Kelantan, who was previously charged with physical sexual assault against a male student, was arrested again for allegedly committing a similar offence at a tahfiz school in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu.
The 46-year-old suspect was arrested at a madrasah in Tumpat.
The suspect was believed to have sexually assaulted a 14-year-old male student at a tahfiz school in Batu Rakit, Kuala Nerus.
It was later reported that the suspect was expected to face six more charges following more reports lodged against him for similar offences.
TEEN SELLING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL
Also in September, in a landmark cybercrime case, police arrested a 17-year-old student who allegedly earned RM76,000 in nine months selling child sexual abuse material through encrypted messaging platforms and e-wallet payments.
Checks revealed the teenager ran a Telegram group where he sold content he found on Tumblr for up to RM50 per video.
He received payments via e-wallet and QR-based bank transactions.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail described the case as “a worrying sign of moral collapse and digital profiteering among youth”.
FATAL STABBING IN BANDAR UTAMA SCHOOL
The most harrowing of child-related crimes occurred in Bandar Utama on Oct 14, where a 16-year-old schoolgirl was fatally stabbed by a schoolmate at a secondary school compound during school hours.
The suspect, a 14-year-old boy, allegedly cornered the victim in a toilet at the school and stabbed her multiple times. She died at the scene. Investigations revealed the teenage boy was a secret admirer of the victim.
The teenager was charged with the murder on Oct 22.
He has been sent for psychiatric evaluation at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Perak.
The mental evaluation report is expected to be handed to the court on Jan 16.
ROBLOX ATTACK
Another disturbing case in October involved a 6-year-old boy in Johor, who was allegedly attacked by his elder brother after an argument over an online game.
Police said the boy might have been driven by rage after losing over a million points in the online game platform Roblox when his younger brother accidentally damaged his mobile phone.
Inconsistencies in the parents’ initial statements led to the suspicion of an attempt to conceal the elder sibling’s alleged role in the attack. The couple has
two children, both boys, aged 6 and 9.
TEEN GROUP SEX
October also saw four teenagers, including three school students, being arrested for allegedly gang-raping a girl and sharing nude recordings of the victim online.
The victim, who is a minor, had sexual intercourse with each of the four suspects on separate occasions, including in an empty classroom and in an oil palm estate.
Investigations revealed that the four suspects were involved in sexual acts, including group sex, from May to August in several classrooms at the school.
Videos on phones seized by the police did not show the sexual encounters but depicted other immoral acts involving the victim.
GANG-RAPE IN ALOR GAJAH SCHOOL
Also in October, four Form 5 students were arrested in connection with the gang rape of a female student in a classroom at a school in Alor Gajah.
report.
Taken together, these crimes revealed a sobering truth: the vulnerabilities facing minors today are complex, interconnected and rapidly evolving.
From bullying and abuse of authority to digital exploitation and peer-on-peer violence, the traditional boundaries between victims and perpetrators have become increasingly blurred, challenging long-held assumptions about childhood innocence and risk.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
