A Malaysian teenager has been acquitted of murdering a female schoolmate, with the court ruling that he was mentally unstable at the time of the crime. The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, fatally stabbed 16-year-old Yap Shing Xuen in a school toilet on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The incident shocked the country and sparked discussions about the impact of social media on young people. At the time of the killing, the boy was 14 years old, and police had suspected that social media might have played a role in the incident. During the trial, the boy pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. However, his defense did not dispute that he was responsible for the killing. Instead, they argued that he had long suffered from mental health issues and should be acquitted on the grounds of insanity. A psychiatrist testified that the boy had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had experienced delusions since he was nine years old. His mental health reportedly deteriorated further during the pandemic and after returning to school. His lawyers stated that he would require lifelong psychiatric treatment to manage his condition. On Monday, the judge ruled that the boy would be acquitted but ordered that he be placed in a psychiatric hospital for treatment. He will remain there until he is considered fit to rejoin society, with potential for annual assessments in the future. A defense lawyer noted that the boy appeared emotionally neutral after the verdict but understood the seriousness of the situation. The trial was held in a closed court, restricting public and media access. A note found on the boy at the time of his arrest was leaked online, fueling national conversations about the negative effects of social media on children. Some compared the case to a Netflix series, Adolescence, which explored the theme of online radicalization through a storyline involving a school shooting. Last year, Malaysia's Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, acknowledged the role of mobile phones and social media in similar cases of school violence. In response, the government has implemented new rules, including a ban on children under 16 from having accounts on major social media platforms, aimed at reducing exposure to harmful online content.