Just before noon, her casket was placed into the white hearse bound for the Nirvana Memorial Park in Shah Alam, Selangor, where she will be cremated and laid to rest.

Each mourner was given a blue balloon – symbolising Yap’s favourite colour – to carry along the short, silent 100m procession.

Leading the walk was her elder sister, who held back tears, while relatives and friends trailed behind. When the time came, they released the balloons together in a simple act of farewell.

More than 200 people, including family members, teachers and friends, attended the sombre ceremony at the Nirvana Centre (Nirvana 2), Seputeh, here earlier this morning.

Around 10am, the casket had been sealed after a Buddhist prayer led by a nun. Yap’s mother, Wong Lee Ping, was seen weeping uncontrollably as eulogies recalled her daughter’s bright and compassionate nature.

Outside the hall, rows of white chrysanthemums, a symbol of mourning, lined the walkway.

Over the past few days, several political figures, including education minister Fadhlina Sidek, and youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh, had come to pay their last respects at her wake.

Even the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah sent a condolence wreath.

On Oct 14, Yap was stabbed up to 200 times by a 14-year-old boy in the girls’ lavatory of SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (4) in Petaling Jaya. The suspect has been remanded for police to carry out their investigation into the case.