Student viciously beaten-up, teachers do nothing

Mother of the boy says the school did not take her child to hospital or take any action against those who beat him.

KUALA LUMPUR: A single mother of a primary school pupil is incensed that his teachers did nothing to investigate or reprimand her son’s classmates who viciously beat him up.

Recalling the incident, the single mother said she received a telephone call from the Chinese vernacular school he son goes to in the city at about noon on October 28.

“I was asked to come to the school immediately and get my son as he had injured his head.

When asked how serious the injury was, the teacher replied, “Just a small cut. You come and take him home la,” she said.

The single mother then explained that about an hour later when she arrived at the school’s office, she found her son lying down with a deep gash on his forehead.

“He was pale and surrounded by three or four teachers who were merely watching him. I found that his school uniform had been changed. There were blood stains on his legs and shoes.

“It was then that the teachers told me that my son was beaten up by three of his classmates,” she said, after which she rushed her son to a hospital.

Not willing to let the incident go lightly, the mother went to the school the next morning to sort out the matter.

Coincidentally, she chanced upon the same teacher who told her what had transpired when her child was standing outside the school gates.

“I informed her that I wanted to see the pupils who assaulted my child. She panicked. She tried to stop me from going into the school’s office and followed me there. Only then was the headmaster informed of what had taken place.

“My child was seriously assaulted at school yesterday. The authorities have not even raised a finger to take any action, even the headmaster found out about the matter a day after,” she said.

Asked why no action was taken over the assault, the teacher informed her that the incident happened close to the end of the morning session and that they did not have enough time to investigate the matter or take any action.

“This is a lie as my child was assaulted at about 11.30am to noon and the morning session ends at 1.30pm. How can they say that nothing could have been done?

“If they said that they were rushing the child to hospital maybe that would have been a valid remark but they only stood by and watched my son bleed.

“Is there a regulation against teachers taking injured pupils to hospitals? I am a single mother who has to work to earn a living and what if I got there too late?

Besides receiving blows to the back, and being kicked on his chest, the boy was repeatedly punched by three of his classmates in the face, causing his face and chin to swell. A deep gash on his forehead meanwhile was caused by a water bottle that was used to hit him.

The mother said that her child had complained of being beaten up by other pupils many times before.

“He did tell the teacher of the previous incidents but was only told to sit down in his place. Why was no action taken?” she asked.