Second Chance to Live

4 slash wounds and 20 stab wounds.

A girl's life was abruptly and brutally ended after 11 years of living, committed by a boy who was only one year older than her.

As a result of his action, the boy paid 4 years of his adolescence behind bars at the pleasure of the King. 4 years later, the court reaffirmed the conviction that he was found guilty of the murder but freed him. Reason? There was no law that prescribes a sentence for a child convicted of murder.

Found guilty but freed?

The Bar Council of Malaysia describes the verdict as a failure of the criminal justice system.

The mother of the daughter is stunned and must be suffering from another severe emotional setback. The thought of the boy paying 4 years of imprisonment in exchange of her daughter's life is simply unbearable.

As for the rest of Malaysia, many must be feeling furious over the inability of the system and sympathizing over the family of the girl.

What about the boy? Having spent the best of his formative years behind bars, he will be suffering from the repercussions of the imprisonment for the rest of his life. More importantly, he will be haunted by his guilt and will experience rejection by the society. This is a more torturous punishment than capital punishment, which would have been his fate if not for Child Act 2001.

Undeniably, we see injustice from the perspective of the family of the victim. Yet perhaps, from the perspective of the family of the boy, we see the remorseful boy experiencing grace, given a second chance to live.