Malaysian teenage couple charged with murder of Cyberjaya student in dorm

The public has expressed outrage over lax security at the tech hub, such as the absence of CCTV cameras in the student dormitories

A Malaysian teenage couple were charged with murder in a court on Thursday over the killing of a 20-year-old student last month, in a case that has caused nationwide concerns over security for students living in the country’s flagship tech hub of Cyberjaya.

Prosecutors accused Sri Darvein Manthavan, 19, of killing Malaysian Maniishapriet Kaur Akhara at her dorm on June 23, aided by his girlfriend Thineswary V Devendran, also 19.

Both suspects face the death penalty if found guilty, or an alternative penalty of between 30 years and 40 years in jail and no less than 12 strokes of the cane.

No plea was taken from the suspects pending the case’s transfer to the High Court.

The pair will be transferred to prison while awaiting trial as murder is a non-bailable offence.

Their next hearing will be held on September 11.

Darvein and Thineswary were arrested along with a third suspect two days after the victim was found dead in her dormitory on June 24.

Maniishapriet, a physiotherapy undergraduate at the University of Cyberjaya, was believed to have been alone in her dormitory since June 21, as her five roommates had left for the holidays.

Police said the victim’s laptop, mobile phone, ATM card and cash were missing. The male suspect was believed to have used her card to withdraw money several times shortly after her death.

An autopsy found that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and that there were no signs of sexual assault.

All three suspects were known to the victim, said police, who found no signs of forced entry into her unit.

The case has triggered widespread outrage in Malaysia over lax security in the tech enclave, especially after police confirmed that the accommodation complex run by the university lacked basic security measures such as closed-circuit television cameras.

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Last September, a 71-year-old woman was raped and robbed by a 25-year-old man in a stairwell of a flat building in Cyberjaya.

In 2023, three Indian nationals were arrested in connection with a separate murder case near the Cyberjaya lake.