The Kepanjen District Court in Malang, East Java, has charged a 17-year-old student with premeditated murder for trying to save his girlfriend from being raped, the teenager's lawyer has confirmed.

The student was hanging out with his girlfriend on Sept. 8 at Gondanglegi Kulon village in Malang when apparently another male suddenly attacked them. The second male, identified as Misnan, reportedly taunted the teenager and threatened to rape his girlfriend, allegedly prompting the teenager to stab Misnan in the chest, killing him.

During a court hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors indicted the male teenager -- who is to undergo a closed trial under the juvenile justice system -- under Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.

“[The male teenager] actually received three criminal charges. The primary charge against him is under Article 340, while the subsidiary charges are under articles 338 and 351 of the Criminal Code [on murder and assault],” said Lukman Chakim, one of the teenager's lawyers, as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday.

Lukman criticized the indictment, particularly the prosecutors' decision to slap the teenager with a premeditated murder charge, claiming that his client stabbed Misnan in self-defense.

He argued that the incident chronology did not fulfill the requirements of a murder that was planned in advance as stipulated in Article 340 of the Criminal Code and therefore the lawyers would file to have that charge dropped.

The legal team was currently in the process of finding criminal law experts to help them argue against the charge, Lukman added.

At the time of the writing, the Kepanjen Prosecutor's Office had yet to respond to a request for confirmation of the indictment. (dpk)