Hindu boy 'forced to become Muslim by his teachers' tries to KILL HIMSELF

A 14-year-old student caught in a religious tussle has been hospitalised after ingesting weed killer in an apparent suicide attempt.

G Thiyaggurudeen's father, S Ganesan told Malaysiakini that his son admitted to drinking coffee mixed with paraquat yesterday.

He has since been warded at Seremban's Tuanku Jaafar hospital.

"My son told me that he is afraid that they (religious authorities) would take him away and put him through the ordeal again. He has told doctors and the police the same thing," he said.

Ganesan said doctors have informed him that Thiyaggurudeen is stable at the moment but pointed out that paraquat poisoning would take several days to take its course.

Paraquat is normally used as a herbicide, and causes multiple organ failure in humans if ingested even in small quantities. It is also potentially lethal if its fumes are inhaled.

Previously, Thiyaggurudeen had claimed that he was locked up in an Islamic missionary centre in Negri Sembilan on Feb 13, and was forced by two teachers to lodge a police report against his father.

He was also supposedly grilled for over three hours by a group claiming to be Islamic Affairs Department officers until his father tracked down his whereabouts and rescued him.

A Port Dickson district education department official told Malaysiakini about a fortnight ago that it was already investigating Ganesan’s claims.

The officer, who declined to be named, said Thiyaggurudeen’s teachers had denied forcing the boy to drink ‘air penawar’ - contrary to Ganesan’s claims - and they instead had accused Ganesan of physically abusing his son for three years.

'Air penawar' is water that has been subject to prayers and reportedly possess healing properties.

Ganesan had applied to the Syariah Court to change his son's religion but was told that he needed to wait until the boy is 18 to obtain his consent.

Previously, a Port Dickson district education department official told Malaysiakini that it is investigating the matter.

The officer, who declined to be named, added that Thiyaggurudeen's teachers had denied forcing the boy to drink "air penawar" as alleged by Ganesan, and accused the father of physically abusing his son for three years.

"Air penawar" is a type of water that has been prayed on and is said to possess healing properties.

'Gripped with fear'

Meanwhile, Ganesan said since Thiyaggurudeen's ordeal with the missionary centre, he has been gripped with fear and has been refusing to go to school.

Instead, he said Thiyaggurudeen no longer looked cheerful and often locked himself in his room out of fear that religious authorities would take him away.

He drank the poison some time between 1pm and 1.30pm yesterday while his elder brother was out to fetch another brother from school.

At about 2.20pm, Thiyaggurudeen supposedly told his younger brother who had just returned from school that he had drank paraquat.

"So my nine-year old son called and said, 'Dad, come home quick. Brother has taken poison'," he said.

Meanwhile, PKR's S Jayathas, who has been assisting Ganesan on the issue, blamed the suicide bid on religious authorities and Thiyaggurudeen's teachers.

"If anything happens, then those people involved will have to face action," he said. - M'kini