Murder victim's stepdad pleads for nonsensical rumours to stop

The stepfather of the murdered Bandar Utama schoolgirl has pleaded with social media users to refrain from spreading falsehoods about his stepdaughter.

At a press conference held at the 16-year-old Yap Shing Xuen's wake at the Nirvana Center Kuala Lumpur (Nirvana 2), How Boon Chin said all he wants are answers about what really happened to the teenager.

He said the spate of rumours on social media has gotten to an unbearable level for his family.

"So, the main thing is hopefully, those social media (users) don't mislead the people. I even got a case where the victim was raped. That's ridiculous. Please stop all this nonsense, and the main thing is, I want an answer for my daughter.

"Hope this thing can stop and won't happen again, because school is supposed to be a safe place, and now, it is scary. Even just now, I heard some students saying they dare not go to school, 100 students only in school yesterday," How (above) said.

His wife, Wong Lee Ping, meanwhile, urged an end to rumours falsely linking her brother to the suspect, after accusations surfaced that he is the suspect’s biological father.

The speculation began after he was reportedly seen with the family at the school and at the police station.

Wong said her brother has since lodged a police report in response to the false accusations.

On Oct 14, a 14-year-old student allegedly fatally stabbed Yap at their school in Bandar Utama, Selangor, with reports stating that unrequited love was among the angles being investigated.

Selangor police chief Shazeli Kahar has since confirmed that the suspect did not express his romantic feelings toward the victim.

He said the suspect was also undergoing counselling for his academic performance, not for psychological help, and that the school was not aware of the teen’s behavioural problems.

‘My daughter loved sports’

The New Straits Times reported him as saying that violent video games and certain social media content may have played a role in the fatal stabbing.

The suspect has been remanded until Oct 21 to facilitate investigations.

In the press conference, Wong said her daughter was an introvert who loved sports and had won second place in a recent volleyball championship.

"She was a very disciplined person and knew how to arrange all her schedules and programmes," Wong said, in describing Yap, the youngest of her two daughters.

"She was a very smart and very sporty person. She joined a lot of sports, volleyball and badminton," her husband, How, added.

Scammer alert

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, who was at the press conference with the family, urged donors not to make any donations to the grieving family using any QR code and advised them to pass their contributions directly.

"Scammers are abusing the QR code. So those who want to give financial support to express condolences, they can come directly to Nirvana to give and do not use the QR code anymore, because the scammers have misused it," Kok said.

Earlier, China Press reported that unscrupulous individuals are reportedly taking advantage of those paying their respects to the 16-year-old by switching the QR code for donations.

An obituary with the switched QR codes reportedly diverting contributions to scammers’ bank accounts was shared on social media.

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