A public schoolboy who attacked two sleeping students and a teacher with hammers at a boarding school can now be identified as a Malaysian student. Thomas Wei Huang, who turns 18 in January, is from a wealthy family and was a boarding student at Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Devon.
Huang could not be named due to reporting restrictions imposed due to his age but these have been lifted by Mrs Justice Cutts following an application by the PA news agency. During his evidence, Huang told the jury: “I wanted to come to England to study in a boarding school. I knew that I would have to live in school seven days a week. I was excited to be doing it.”
The court heard Huang’s brother, who is two years older than him, had also attended Blundell’s. During half-term breaks the brothers would spend time at the family’s London home in Battersea rather than returning to Malaysia.
They would spend their longer holidays in Malaysia, London, or in Europe. When asked if he was happy at the school, Huang replied: “Yes I was.
“I liked my friends, my teachers and the academic aspect of it. I didn’t like the sports and the food at the school.”
Huang said he enjoyed mathematics and was due to take his GCSE in that subject early. He described life at the boarding school, including pupils sharing takeaways and tubs of sweets. The defendant admitted he had two mobile phones at school because one had to be handed in at night and he wanted to use the other before going to sleep.
Huang also told the jury he kept a hammer under his pillow and another on the side of his bed next to where he stored snacks. When asked why he slept with these weapons close to him, Huang replied: “For protection”. He told the court he needed protection from “the zombie apocalypse”.
Huang said he had seen depictions of zombies in films and television shows such as The Walking Dead. When asked if he thought the apocalypse was real, he said “Yes I do”. He told jurors it would be “the end of the world” and had told friends but believed they thought he was joking.
Huang described zombies as “vicious creatures” and said he required at least two weapons for protection in case the other was lost. The defendant described himself as “scared and anxious” after being arrested for attempted murder. He said he had previously only been in a police station in Malaysia when his father was accused of speeding.
The court heard that since the incident at Blundell’s School, Huang has been diagnosed with autism. Giving evidence, he insisted he had not attempted to murder any of those he attacked on June 9 last year. When asked about how he felt now, Huang replied: “I feel very terribly sorry for all three individuals because of what I did to them. I feel very sorry for everyone, the families and themselves.”
Huang was convicted of three counts of attempted murder on June 21 following a trial at Exeter Crown Court. Last month, Mrs Justice Cutts imposed a sentence of detention for life with a minimum term of 12 years.
Huang could not be named at that point to allow his defence team to make further legal applications relating to his anonymity. On November 1 it was confirmed that no such application would be made and the reporting restrictions had been formally lifted.