‘Tongue cutting was in class, not toilet’

Education Department denies negligence and says teacher was paying attention to another group of students at the time.

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Education Department has denied there were elements of negligence in the incident involving a Year Two pupil allegedly forced to cut his own tongue at a school here last Thursday.

Its director, Zainuren Mohd Noor, said according to the report submitted by the school, the incident occurred in a class and not in a toilet as alleged.

“The report also stated that there were witnesses – who are the victim’s classmates – who said that the boy had cut his own tongue.

“At that moment, the teacher was paying attention to another group of students. After the incident, the victim was taken to a hospital and told his parents all about it,” he told Bernama here Tuesday.

Last Thursday, eight-year-old Muhammad Alif Shukran Alias claimed to have been forced to cut his own tongue in a toilet at school by a group of five Year Three pupils from the same school, and received a stitch as a result of the incident.

However, Zainuren said the department would continue its investigation to determine whether there were elements of bullying in the incident.

– BERNAMA