Five students plead guilty to rioting in an orphanage

Five students of an orphanage at the Kompleks Penyayang Dr Siti Hasmah, Jejawi, pleaded guilty in the Juvenile Court here to a charge of rioting which resulted in one of their friends to be injured.

The students, aged between 13 and 15, are charged under Section 147 of the Penal Code which provides a maximum imprisonment for two years, or with fine, or with both, if found guilty.

Journalists were however not allowed into the court room to cover the proceeding.

Deputy public prosecutor Syazwani Mohamad Sabri told reporters that the students were charged with committing the offence, which resulted in 11-year-old Noor Azhar Saad to be injured, at the hostel between 1 pm on May 31 and 2 pm on June 1 this year.

He said the sixth accused did not turn up in court today.

Magistrate Norhayati Ibrahim, who presided the case, set bail at RM500 in one surety for each of the students and fixed Dec 24 for sentencing.

The students were caught by the police on June 24 after a video of them bullying Noor Azhar was uploaded on Facebook and other social media.