‘We are not safe’: murder in Malaysian tech hub fuels student terror

The 20-year-old’s murder has left thousands of students in Cyberjaya’s largely unmonitored dorms fearing for their lives

The brutal murder of a 20-year-old university student in her dormitory has renewed scrutiny on safety lapses in Cyberjaya, a township hailed in the 1990s as Malaysia’s Silicon Valley but now notorious for crime.

Maniishapriet Kaur Akhara, a University of Cyberjaya undergraduate, was found dead on Tuesday due to blunt force trauma to the head, Sepang district police said on Thursday.

“Investigation at the scene found no signs of forced entry into the victim’s residence. Further examination of the victim’s body revealed injuries to the head,” said district police chief Norhizam Bahaman.

The autopsy did not find signs of rape, he added, refuting claims widely circulated on social media that she had been sexually assaulted before being killed. There is a manhunt out for several suspects in the murder, with police saying they are close to making arrests.

Her murder has once again turned the spotlight on the reputation of the city of 140,000 as a hotbed of crime.

Conceived as a twin to the federal administrative capital of Putrajaya, Cyberjaya was meant to anchor the country’s digital ambitions. While those early hopes faded, the area is now undergoing a revival, driven by a surge in data centre projects under the government’s push to position Malaysia as a regional digital infrastructure hub.

Manisshapriet’s murder is the latest in a string of disturbing crimes in Cyberjaya.

Last September, a 71-year-old woman was raped and robbed in the stairwell of a flat building by a 25-year-old man. A year earlier, police detained three Indian nationals in connection with a separate murder case near the Cyberjaya lake.

The city’s northeastern quadrant, where Maniishapriet lived, is a student district housing over 20,000 students from the University of Cyberjaya and nearby Multimedia University. Many live in privately operated flat complexes, which residents say are poorly monitored and inadequately secured.

Following the murder, online users voiced frustration over the lack of basic safety measures in student housing, including non-functional CCTV systems, dimly lit common areas and lax guard patrols.

In Maniishapriet’s case, police confirmed that there were no cameras along the condominium corridors, while the lift’s CCTV unit was faulty and inoperable.

The Bachelor of Physiotherapy student had been staying on her own in the dormitory at Mutiara Ville to study for an exam since Saturday, after her five housemates returned home for the holidays.

A viral message circulating among residents on Wednesday described the killing as a tragedy that could have been prevented.

“Where was the security? Where were the cameras, the guards, the check-ins? How did three unknown men even get in? Why did she have to die for someone to pay attention?” the message read. “We are not safe!”

Long-time resident Lutfi Hashim said such incidents have plagued Cyberjaya since its early days. “Back then there were more students living here, and the general lack of adult supervision saw rampant drug use, street races, and fights breaking out ever so often,” he said. “It has gotten better, but there is still a long way to go.”