KOTA KINABALU: The jailing of 13 Lahad Datu Vocational College students for the murder of Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan, 17, sends a message to all bullies, says his mother Siti Hamidah Jumari.
Hamidah, 46, said her son's case served as a lesson to the community on bullying, which has become a serious concern, especially after the death in Papar last month of 13-year-old Zara Qairina Mahathir.
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"In the past, bullying cases only resulted in injuries, but now it has reached the point of claiming lives.
"It needs to be curbed from an early stage, as early as primary school," she told reporters on Friday (Aug 29).
On Thursday (Aug 28), Tawau High Court judge Justice Datuk Duncan Sikodol sentenced one of the students, who is 19, to 30 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
The rest, who are juveniles, were ordered to be detained at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri.
On Aug 22, Justice Sikodol found all 13 accused guilty of murdering hostel mate Nazmie Aizzat between 9pm on March 21 and 7.38am on March 22 last year at their Lahad Datu Vocational College hostel dormitory.
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Siti Hamidah said the decision had given her family some relief after waiting more than a year for justice to be done.
"Thank God, this decision is the best. Even though my son is no more, at least justice for him has been served," she said.
Siti Hamidah said she forgave the perpetrators for their actions but they still needed to be held to account.
"I forgive them, but responsibility still exists. May this sentence serve as a lesson to everyone," she said.
She described Nazmie Aizzat, the second of her three children, as not only responsible but helpful and cheerful.
