The involvement of school students in criminal activities and its position in the Malaysian Law

Abstract

The involvement of secondary school students in Malaysia in criminal activities is escalating and causing alarm to the society as a whole. There are several identified categories of crimes involving secondary school students, for instance theft, snatching, rape, housebreaking and robbery. In Malaysia there are specific legal provisions that govern criminal acts committed by those between the ages of 12 to 18 years old. Those provisions are the Penal Code and the Child Act 2001. From those provisions it can be seen that the age of criminal responsibility under the Malaysian criminal justice system is 10 years old while the definition of a child under the law is below 18 years of age. In consideration of the current scenario in Malaysia, this article seeks to discuss the relevant legal provisions pertaining to the status of school going children who committed crimes. In doing so, it will then be possible to identify the extent of their criminal responsibility and the types of punishment that may be imposed on this category of offenders.