PUTRAJAYA Oct 4, 2026 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has ordered an immediate, thorough and transparent investigation into the death of a 16-year-old Form Four student found at a secondary school in Yong Peng, Johor.
Irene Sofiya Mohd Khairoul Faisal was discovered in the school hall at about 5.30pm on Saturday after she failed to return home from afternoon tuition classes. Her grandmother and a friend went looking for her and found her lying in the hall with visible injuries. She was initially conscious but later died. Police have opened a murder investigation.
Three male students, all aged 16 and from the same school, were detained hours after the body was found. One of them was expected to be produced at the Batu Pahat Magistrate’s Court on Sunday morning for a remand application to assist further inquiries. Police have not released details of the motive or full circumstances, and investigations remain ongoing.
In a statement on social media on Sunday, Anwar expressed deep sorrow over the death and extended condolences to the family. He said authorities had been directed to establish the cause and what actually occurred. “If there are criminal elements, firm action must be taken in accordance with the law,” he said. He added that the safety of children is a shared responsibility and that the government will not compromise on protecting their well-being.
The Johor state government has instructed the state Education Department and Batu Pahat District Education Office to give full cooperation to police. State Education and Information Committee chairman Dr Muhammad Naqib Md Ghazali said student safety is a priority and warned against any form of bullying or violence in schools, while urging the public not to spread unverified information that could hinder the investigation.
Family members described Irene Sofiya as an only child who lived with her grandmother after her mother, a public-health doctor, died of liver cancer when the girl was about eight or nine. Her father works as an engineer. Relatives said she had hoped to follow her mother’s path and become a doctor, and that she was a focused student with strong academic potential.
About The Author
