BATU PAHAT, Oct. 4 -- A Form Four student found dead in a secondary school in Yong Peng yesterday was among the school's top academic performers and had been expected to achieve straight As in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination next year, according to a classmate.

The friend said the 16-year-old victim's absence during an extra class session had initially raised little concern among classmates, who assumed she was unwell.

A teacher had asked about the student's whereabouts during the lesson, but none of the pupils knew why she was absent, the classmate said.

"I only later learned that she had not returned home. At the time, I never imagined that anything serious had happened to her," the student said.

The friend recalled t...