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A teenager in Malaysia was killed after being brutally attacked last Friday (June 16) by a homophobic and femmephobic pack of teenagers.
The teen, known as Nhaveen, was out with a friend, Previin, on Friday night when the attack happened. They were celebrating Nhaveen quitting his job so he could move to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia’s capital) for school the next day. Nhaveen and Previin were outside of a burger shop when they were confronted by two classmates who consistently bullied Nhaveen for being “effeminate” and “gay.” Six more people reportedly showed up on motorcycles and all eight, between the ages of 16 and 18, started beating Nhaveen and Previin with helmets.
Previin escaped to Penang Hospital. He was treated for crushed cheekbones, but Nhaveen couldn’t escape. He was reportedly attacked for several hours. One of the attacker’s brother brought Nhaveen to the hospital at 2 a.m. where he was checked in for severe head injuries, severe burn marks on his back, and a wound to his groin. In addition to all of this, Nhaveen showed signs of forced penetration in his anus, most likely due to a blunt object.
Nhaveen was pronounced brain dead and has since died from his injuries. Five of the attackers were arrested, while three are still at large.
Nhaveen’s sexuality was unknown, but a former teacher told Free Malaysia Today that he was constantly bullied because a lot of people in school thought he was gay. “He was soft but not gay, that is for sure. But he paid no mind to those boys and ignored them. But these boys (bullies) had their agenda, which was to make Nhaveen a ‘macho man’ based on their ideals,” the teacher said.
Nhaveen’s attack came after Malaysia’s Health Ministry announced a competition that encouraged contestants to make anti-gay videos showing how to prevent homosexuality and transgender identities. This was a competition that would have awarded it’s winner thousands of dollars. It has since been canceled, but not before ministers tried to defend it.
Hundreds of people showed up outside of the hospital, before Nhaveen’s death, to hold a candlelight vigil for him. Nhaveen was supposed to go to University in Kuala Lumpur to study music composition, an art form he was passionate about.
Rest in peace, Nhaveen.
