A 17-year-old Malaysian student, Thomas Wei Huang, has been sentenced to life in prison for attacking two classmates and a teacher with a hammer at a boarding school in Devon, UK.
Huang, a student at Blundell’s School in Tiverton, was convicted of attempting to kill three people and was ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years in prison. During the sentencing at Exeter Crown Court, Judge Justice Cutts stated, “You knew the difference between right and wrong and you intended to kill those boys.”
The incident occurred in June of the previous year when Huang attacked two male roommates, aged 15 and 16, as they slept in their dormitory. The attack caused severe injuries, including skull fractures and internal organ damage, with one of the victims suffering permanent brain damage.
In addition to the students, Huang also assaulted housemaster Henry Roffe-Silvester, inflicting six head wounds. Roffe-Silvester intervened during the attack but fully recovered from his injuries.
Huang initially claimed that he was sleepwalking during the attack and had gathered weapons in preparation for a “zombie apocalypse.” However, the jury rejected this defense and found him guilty of three counts of attempted murder.
The judge also lifted an order that had previously prevented the identification of Huang, allowing his name to be made public following the conviction.
