SINGAPORE, July 20 — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today conveyed his condolences to the family of the 13-year-old student who was killed by fellow school mate at the school in a bizarre incident here on Monday.
“Like all of us, I was shocked by yesterday’s tragic incident at River Valley High School. We cannot make sense of what happened. Words fail us because we cannot understand,” wrote Lee in his Facebook page.
“My heart goes out to his family. I know we cannot properly express our sympathy, or offer much comfort in their sudden calamity. But still, I would like them to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them,” he wrote further.
Lee noted that police investigation “to find out the motivations behind this tragedy, and if something could have been done to avert it” is still ongoing.
“Let us wait for them to complete their work. Let us not worsen the trauma and grief of the affected families with speculation and rumour,” he said.
It was reported that the Secondary 1 student was killed allegedly by a 16-year-old Secondary 4 student and the victim was found with multiple wounds in a toilet of the school.
The alleged teen attacker was arrested and an axe was seized.
Meanwhile, the republic’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam said the attacker has been charged today.
“As AGC (Attorney-General’s Chambers) told the court, there is some history of mental health issues,” said Shanmugam in his Facebook update today.
“There are questions being asked about how the boy got an axe. Preliminary investigations suggests that he purchased it online. But we will know the full facts only after investigations are completed,” he said.
